Laparoscopic lymph node dissection after endoscopic submucosal dissection: a novel and minimally invasive approach to treating early-stage gastric cancer

The combination of ESD and LLND enables the complete resection of the primary tumor and the histologic determination of lymph node status. This combination treatment is a potential, minimally invasive method, and may obviate unnecessary gastrectomy without compromising curability for EGC patients having the potential risk of LNM.