Efficacy of the magnetic marking clip method for preoperative localization of GI tumor

Abstract

Laparoscopic surgery is mainly used to resect GI tumors; therefore, the importance of tumor localization has been well established. Without exact tumor localization, unnecessary excess tissue may be resected, or surgeons may not secure sufficient resection margins. Various methods have been suggested for the localization of GI tumors in laparoscopic surgery; however, these methods have several limitations. We have devised a magnetic marking clip (MMC) that is a silicon-coated magnet fixed to an endoclip with nylon string. In 13 patients with gastric submucosal tumor and 12 patients with early colorectal cancer, the MMC was applied on the center of the lesion during preoperative endoscopy (Fig. 1A; Video 1, available online at www.giejournal.org). During surgery, the magnetic body was inserted through a laparoscopic trocar and was used to detect the tumor location marked with the MMC (Fig. 1B). The time required for detection ranged from 5 to 83 seconds in the stomach and 8 to 44 seconds in the colon. No patients experienced adverse events associated with the MMC procedure. The MMC method enabled simple and convenient tumor localization and showed excellent outcomes in accuracy of tumor localization. The MMC method may help surgeons localize GI tumor lesions easily and accurately during laparoscopic surgery.