Anatomical and surgical evaluation of gastroepiploic artery.

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge of the anatomy of the stomach and its surrounding structures is essential for lymph node dissection. This is the first gross anatomical investigation of anastomosis variations in the gastroepiploic arteries (GEA). The aim of this study is to examine the anastomosis pattern of the right and left GEA (RGEA and LGEA, respectively).

METHODS: Seventeen cadavers were dissected, and the anastomotic patterns of RGEA and LGEA were observed macroscopically.

RESULTS: The anastomotic patterns were classified into two groups. Type 1 had direct anastomosis (n = 16; 94.1%), whereas Type 2 had no anastomosis (n = 1; 5.9%). Formation of an arterial arch along the greater curvature was observed in twelve cases (70.6%), whereas four cases (23.5%) exhibited mesh-like anastomosis or narrow anastomotic branches.

CONCLUSIONS: Direct anastomoses were observed in almost all the cases. These results are significant, and may be useful in the classification of lymph nodes or speculation of cancer metastases.