Total gastrectomy for non-neoplastic diseases

Background: The aim of this study was to describe patients who had total gastrectomy for non-neoplastic diseases within a well-defined geographical area. Material and Methods: Retrospective study of patients who had gastrectomy for a non-neoplastic disease at the Department of Surgery, Odense University Hospital from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2014. Results: A total of 268 gastrectomies were performed with the 10-year period. Of these, ten (4%) were done for non-neoplastic diseases. Two were men and eight women with a median age of 51 years (range 31 to 96 years). Six had emergency surgery and four were planned procedures. Four patients had no complications following surgery, whereas severe complications where seen in 6 patients, where anastomotic leakage occurred in 3 patients. Median length of postoperative stay was 21 days (range 6 to 98 days), and the 30-days and 90-days mortality was 1 of 10 and 2 of 10, respectively. Histology of the resected specimens showed: Oedema, inflammation and/or necrosis (n=6), Menetrier's disease (n=2) and perforation (n=2). Conclusions: Gastrectomy for non-neoplastic diseases accounts for less than 5% of all gastrectomies. The majority of these cases are performed as emergency procedures, and this may explain why the morbidity and short-term mortality is higher than seen in patients having gastrectomy for cancer.