When Uncle Zhao's daughter signed the consent form for the surgery, the tremor in her fingertips betrayed her uncontrollable fear. "Total laparoscopic total gastrectomy" - this technical term, which holds great significance in the eyes of doctors, sounded like a thousand-ton weight to her, filled with the heaviness of the unknown. Over the past six months, she had witnessed her father's condition gradually worsening from occasional pain to being tortured by abdominal pain and unable to sleep through the night. Now, he was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in the body of the stomach. The entire family was plunged into an abyss of despair. But at this moment, the high-risk minimally invasive surgery about to be conducted by the General Surgery Department of Yantai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital became the only glimmer of hope in their desperate situation. 
Everything began half a year ago on a bright morning. Uncle Zhao, as usual, got up early for morning exercise. But after walking a few steps, he felt a dull pain in his stomach. "It's just a minor problem. Nothing serious. Taking a stomach pill will help relieve it," he waved his hand and refused his daughter's suggestion to go to the hospital for medical treatment. However, as time went by, the dull pain did not ease up. Instead, it gradually escalated into a persistent and severe pain, especially at night. The pain often prevented him from sleeping, forcing him to toss and turn, moaning softly. It was precisely in this unbearable state that he came to Yantai City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine with his daughter for diagnosis and treatment.

The results of the gastroscopy examination were like a bolt from the blue - gastric body ulcer and cardia protrusion-like lesion. The pathological biopsy confirmed it as a malignant tumor in the gastric body. The chief surgeon of the General Surgery Department, Sun Chenkun, after comprehensive assessment, gave a clear treatment opinion: "The malignant tumor has invaded the deeper layer of the gastric wall. To achieve the goal of radical resection and completely remove the lesion, a total gastrectomy is required." 
Taking into account the patient's overall physical condition, Dr. Sun suggested using the "total laparoscopic total gastrectomy", which means completing all the surgical procedures under the 3D high-definition laparoscopic view, including the complex digestive tract reconstruction. This approach can not only achieve the surgical goal of completely eliminating the malignant tumor, but also significantly reduce the surgical trauma, effectively alleviate the patient's pain, and promote postoperative recovery. However, the operation is complex and requires higher technical skills. 
The two most crucial steps in the surgery can be regarded as the "life-and-death checkpoints". The first is a thorough lymph node dissection; the second is the reconstruction of the digestive tract, which requires precise anastomosis between the esophagus and the jejunum. This anastomosis, with a diameter of less than 3 centimeters, must not only ensure a tight seal to prevent leakage but also avoid excessive tension that leads to poor healing. 
However, for the family members, this was undoubtedly a difficult decision. "My entire mind was in a fog," said Uncle Zhao's daughter. "Total laparoscopic surgery? Total gastrectomy? The stomach has been removed, can the person still live well? Can those few small holes in the abdomen cut such a large tumor clean? Such a major surgery, can it really be done with just a few small holes?" Behind these series of questions lies the daughter's fear of the unknown risks of the surgery and her deep concern for her father's life. 
Regarding Mr. Zhao's condition, the general surgery team has decided to adopt the currently leading "Self-Traction and Dissection" technique (SPLT technique) in China. Using the self-weight of the stomach as the traction force, after completely free the stomach tissue, handling the blood vessels and cleaning the lymph nodes, they will first perform an anastomosis between the small intestine and the esophagus, and then dislocate the stomach tissue. "This is a relatively advanced operation method in total laparoscopic total gastrectomy at present. It places high demands on the surgeon's precise anatomical cognition, stable operational skills and teamwork ability," Director Sun Chenkun explained. 
The entire operation lasted for 3 and a half hours. The intraoperative bleeding was less than 10 milliliters, which was almost impossible to achieve in traditional open abdominal surgeries. This surgical method not only enhanced safety but also laid a solid foundation for the patient's postoperative recovery.

After the surgery, Uncle Zhao was transferred to the general ward. During the postoperative care, the general surgery nursing team provided him with traditional Chinese medicine therapies such as limb pneumatic compression treatment and acupoint application, which effectively reduced the risk of venous thrombosis, alleviated abdominal discomfort, and promoted the early recovery of postoperative intestinal function. 
On the second day after the surgery, Uncle Zhao was able to drink liquid food such as porridge on his own. This surprised and delighted his daughter. "Before the surgery, even a small amount of food would cause him to have stomach pain," his daughter said with admiration. "Who could have imagined that just two days after the surgery, he could start eating again! This recovery speed is beyond our most optimistic expectations." Watching her father carefully sipping the first mouthful of porridge, her eyes instantly became moist. "This gave our whole family hope. The anxious hearts began to slowly ease back a little bit." 
One of the core advantages of total laparoscopic surgery is that it causes minimal disturbance to the internal organs in the abdominal cavity and significantly reduces interference with the internal environment of the abdomen. This results in a generally faster recovery of intestinal function after the surgery compared to open abdominal surgery. After total stomach resection, the jejunum will gradually take over the functions of the stomach, and with scientific diet, a normal life can be achieved. Director Sun Chenkun explained the key points of postoperative recovery to Mr. Zhao's daughter in detail during the postoperative ward visit. 
The highly challenging total laparoscopic total gastrectomy successfully performed by the General Surgery Department of Yantai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital not only saved a patient with a malignant tumor and his family who were on the verge of collapse, but also demonstrated the humanistic care connotation of modern minimally invasive technology in dealing with complex diseases: what it illuminated was the hope path for countless similar patients to recover.