The stomach is the largest part of the intestinal tract and is the first digestive organ that food enters immediately after the esophagus. Here the food is treated with stomach acid and broken down into smaller pieces.
After about 3-4 hours, the food is excreted into the duodenum. Digestion continues here. The stomach secretes substances involved in the absorption of iron needed for blood formation and in the absorption of vitamin B12.
Stomach ulcers and gastritis are the most common stomach disorders. Some stomach ulcers can be confused with stomach cancers. To find out, an endoscopy is performed and a piece is taken and sent to pathology for diagnosis.
While the treatment of stomach diseases is medication, surgical treatment should be performed in the presence of cancer.
Gastric polyps, i.e. moles originating from inside the stomach, must also be removed endoscopically. If there is cancer in the polyps or if they are very large, surgical treatment is necessary.
Gastric cancers are common cancers and their diagnosis and treatment require a special approach. Patients often present with symptoms of weight loss, bleeding or obstruction.
The most effective diagnostic method is to see the tumor with endoscopic examination and to take a piece and evaluate it in pathology. In addition, radiological examinations such as whole abdomen tomography and PET-CT should be performed to understand the extent of the tumor.
Neoadjuvant treatment can be performed in appropriate patients. The tumor, whose main treatment is surgery, must be removed together with the surrounding tissue and lymph nodes.
These procedures, which take approximately 2-4 hours, can be performed as closed (laparoscopic) or open surgery. In appropriate cases, laparoscopic surgery allows the patient to have a lighter and less painful hospitalization period lasting approximately 1 week after surgery.
Patients are referred to the relevant units for oncologic treatment after all procedures are completed.
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