BACKGROUND: Perforated gastric cancer accounts for less than 1% of patients who present with an acute abdomen and for up to 16% of all gastric perforations. A two-stage laparoscopic procedure may be the therapeutic strategy of choice in selected patients, and adjuvant hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) can reduce the incidence of peritoneal recurrence. A rare case of subphrenic abscess and gastric perforation due to carcinoma of the gastric fundus, followed by two-stage gastrectomy and adjuvant HIPEC is presented.

CASE REPORT: A 65-year old man presented with a left subphrenic abscess secondary to perforated gastric carcinoma. Laparoscopic drainage of the abscess was performed. Ten days later, following recovery from sepsis, the patient underwent total laparoscopic gastrectomy, and adjuvant HIPEC followed by a Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy. Histopathology showed an intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma. The tumor was staged as pT4aN0. The postoperative course was uneventful except for transient atrial fibrillation. The patient was discharged home on postoperative day 11. Systemic adjuvant chemotherapy was begun one month later. At six-month follow-up, the patient had no discomfort on eating or any other symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: In this case, a two-stage laparoscopic treatment for perforated gastric carcinoma combined with adjuvant HIPEC was feasible and safe and may be considered at the time of laparoscopic gastrectomy in selected patients with perforated gastric carcinoma.

Keywords: Gastrectomy, Laparoscopy