2. Surgery

Curative total gastrectomy, D2 lymph node dissection including total omentectomy, and Roux-en-Y esophagojejunostomy were performed in all patients. Reconstruction procedures were performed extracorporeally using circular staplers [15,16]. After surgery, patients were managed according to a clinical protocol that included the intake of drinking water on the third postoperative day, followed by the initiation of a liquid diet on the fourth postoperative day and consumption of a soft diet on the fifth postoperative day. Patients were scheduled to be discharged on the sixth postoperative day.