Abstract
BACKGROUND: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), though effective in the treatment of gastric stromal tumor (GST), is limited by difficult procedures, a long learning curve and a high hospital cost. It is of great clinical value to explore new effective, simple, and safe surgical methods. METHODS: The basic data were collected from 25 patients with GSTs < 1.0 cm in diameter who were randomized into endoscopic ligator-assisted mucosal resection (EMR-L) group (n = 12) and ESD group (n = 13). The efficacy in 2 groups was compared in terms of operation duration, cost, complication, length of stay (LOS) and complete resection rate. RESULTS: The complete resection rate of GST was 100% in both groups. In the EMR-L group, the average operation duration was 16.92 ± 4.76 minutes, the average LOS was 6.12 ± 1.55 days, and the average hospital cost was 17,136.87 ± 2959.80 yuan. In the ESD group, the average operation duration was 46.46 ± 12.27 min, the average LOS was 7.53 ± 2.24 days, and the average hospital cost was 22,760.24 ± 5199.45 yuan. CONCLUSIONS: EMR-L and ESD can achieve the same safety and complete resection rate, but the former has the advantages of simple operation, short operation duration and low hospital cost. EMR-L may serve as a new option for the treatment of GSTs.