What are the recovery time and follow-up items after gastric cancer surgery? Do these four examinations

The recovery time after gastric cancer surgery is different and needs to be determined according to the patient's condition, so the recovery time varies from person to person. Patients need to undergo regular follow-up examinations, such as gastrointestinal tumor marker examinations, CT, ultrasound, gastroscopy, etc., which need to be determined based on the patient's condition, and they also need to undergo regular examinations.

Gastric cancer is a common disease in life. The occurrence of gastric cancer poses a great threat to people's health and life. When gastric cancer occurs, it must be treated in time. Generally, surgery is taken. There will be obvious improvement after gastric cancer surgery. So what are the recovery time and follow-up items after gastric cancer surgery?
Recovery from gastric cancer is related to age and the concept of rapid recovery. Generally speaking, patients can only start eating after passing gas and defecation 5-6 days after gastric cancer surgery, and these patients recover slowly. Rapid recovery now advocates early postoperative liquid diet to promote peristalsis, thereby promoting ventilation and defecation. The possibility of complications such as obstruction after surgery is low.
An appropriate individualized treatment plan is developed based on comprehensive consideration of clinical stage, patient age, and general condition. Surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are combined. Gastric cancer is first surgically removed, followed by postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the tumor bed area to control small metastatic foci of cancer cells.
1. After gastric cancer surgery, you must have regular checkups. The time is within 2 years after surgery, and you need to have a checkup every 3 months. Within 2-5 years after surgery, you need to have a checkup every 6 months. After 5 years after surgery, you need to have a checkup every 1 year.
2. Gastrointestinal tumor marker related examinations: such as CEA, CA19-9, CA72-4, CA24-2, CA125, etc. The changes in tumor markers after gastric cancer surgery represent the recurrence and metastasis of the tumor to a certain extent. In clinical practice, some patients may have recurrence and metastasis, and the changes in tumor markers are much easier to detect tumors than imaging examinations such as CT. Therefore, the postoperative review and tumor marker detection are indispensable.
3. CT: CT is particularly important in the postoperative examination of gastric cancer. This examination can clearly see whether the tumor has recurred or metastasized, and monitor the different degrees of changes in the disease. A CT scan is required before the first chemotherapy after surgery. The key is that the intra-abdominal structure has changed after surgery, so the CT substrate needs to be retained as evidence for future review and comparison. Postoperative CT scans for gastric cancer require plain scans + enhanced CT. Simple CT cannot determine whether the intra-abdominal nodules belong to normal blood vessels, or metastatic lymph nodes, etc., and a CT scan is required. CT examinations need to be performed approximately every 3 to 6 months.
4. Do an ultrasound examination: The ultrasound examination shows no damage or pain. Ultrasound examinations are divided into two types: abdominal ultrasound examination and cervical lymph node examination, which can be mutually confirmed with CT examinations. Some gastric cancer patients may have lymph node metastasis on the clavicle or other parts of the body, so they must go for regular follow-up examinations.