Billroth-II Modified Versus Roux-en-Y After Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

Since the first gastrectomy by Theodore Billroth in 1881, this procedure remained a curative treatment for gastric cancer. Reconstruction method after gastrectomy may affect complication rates, post-operative nutritional status, and quality of life (QoL). There are several reconstruction methods for distal gastrectomy, including Billroth I (B-I), Billroth II (B-II), Roux-en-Y (R-Y). B-I and B-II were considered better than R-Y in terms of shorten operation time and lessen blood loss due to technical simplicity. In contrast, R-Y was better in terms of preventing bile reflux and remnant gastritis, which can increase remnant stomach cancer and worsen QoL. However, long term QoL was similar between B-I and R-Y in some randomized controlled trials. Although bile reflux was higher in B-I and B-II groups, remnant gastric cancer was similar between 3 groups in this study. In brief, which one is the ideal reconstruction after distal gastrectomy is still controversial.

At our center, reconstruction after distal and sub-total gastrectomy including B-I, B-II, B-II with Braun anastomosis, and R-Y, depended mostly on surgeons' preferences. From 2018, to decrease bile reflux rate while not increasing operation time, we applied modified B-II technique with 3-5 sutures between the afferent loop to the gastric remnant. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of this method by comparing it with the R-Y method.