Abstract:Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic wedge resection and circular incision of the sarcomuscular layer of the gastric wall combined with external mucosal dissection in the treatment of gastric stromal tumor in the cardia region.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 35 patients with gastric stromal tumor in the cardia region (tumor diameters ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 cm) who underwent laparoscopic surgery from January 2017 to December 2021. According to different surgical methods, the patients were divided into the wedge resection group (n = 18) and the circular incision of the gastric wall sarcomuscular layer combined with external mucosal dissection group (n = 17). The perioperative indicators (operation time, blood loss and conversion to extended surgery rate, hospital stay, hospitalization cost, inflammatory indicators), postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery (time of first defecation after surgery), complications and oncological outcomes (recurrence and metastasis 3 years after surgery) of the two groups of patients were compared.Results The postoperative pathology of all patients confirmed that the resection margin was negative, achieving R0 resection. The operation time of the group with circular incision of the gastric wall sarcomuscular layer combined with external mucosal dissection was (115.00 ± 21.14) min, which was significantly longer than that of the wedge resection group (94.81 ± 17.51) min. The intraoperative blood loss in the circular incision of the gastric wall sarcomuscular layer combined with external mucosal dissection group was [10.0 (7.5, 15.0)] mL, which was significantly less than [17.5 (10.0, 20.0)] mL in the wedge resection group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The hospitalization cost of the circular incision of the gastric wall sarcomuscular layer combined combined with external mucosal dissection group was (26 888.88 ± 1 912.76) yuan, which was significantly less than that of the wedge resection group [(28 741.78±1 377.32) yuan]. The postoperative C-reactive protein in the group of circular incision of the gastric wall sarcomuscular layer combined with external mucosal dissection was (62.13 ± 5.85) mg/L, which was significantly lower than that in the wedge resection group [(69.37 ± 8.45) mg/L]. The white blood cell count in the circular incision of the gastric wall sarcomuscular layer combined with external mucosal dissection group was (11.10 ± 0.64)×109/L, which was significantly lower than that in the wedge resection group [(11.83 ± 0.87)×109/L], and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the rates of switching to extended surgery, the time of first defecation after surgery, hospital stay and the incidence of complications between the two groups of patients (P > 0.05). The patients in both groups were followed up for 3 years after the operation, and there were no cases of recurrence or metastasis.Conclusion The long-term efficacy of laparoscopic wedge resection combined with circular incision of the sarcomuscular layer of the gastric wall and external mucosal dissection in the treatment of gastric stromal tumor in the cardia region is comparable. Although the operation time of wedge resection is relatively short, the intraoperative blood loss is relatively large, and the risk and cost of converting to expanded surgery are relatively high. Circular incision of the sarcomuscular layer of the gastric wall combined with external mucosal dissection has advantages such as less bleeding, mild postoperative inflammatory response and low hospitalization cost, and is more valuable for clinical application overall.