Gastrectomy is surgery to remove part or all of the stomach.
- If only part of the stomach is removed, it is called partial gastrectomy
- If the whole stomach is removed, it is called total gastrectomy
Description
The surgery is done while you are under general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free). The surgeon makes a cut in the abdomen and removes all or part of the stomach, depending on the reason for the procedure.
Depending on what part of the stomach was removed, the intestine may need to be re-connected to the remaining stomach (partial gastrectomy) or to the esophagus (total gastrectomy).
Today, some surgeons perform gastrectomy using a camera. The surgery is done with a few small surgical cuts. The advantages of this surgery, which is called laparoscopy, are a faster recovery, less pain, and only a few small cuts.
