Gangnam Severance Successfully Performs Surgery on Korea's Oldest 'Residual Cancer' Patient at Age 96

96-year-old colon cancer patient Park Sang-gil (right) and Professor Noh Sung-hoon.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Gangnam Severance Hospital announced on the 29th that the gastrointestinal surgery team led by Professor Noh Seong-hoon recently succeeded in performing 'remnant stomach cancer' surgery on a 96-year-old stomach cancer patient, Park Sang-gil. Remnant stomach cancer is cancer that occurs in the remaining part of the stomach after gastrectomy, and is known to occur in 2 to 6% of patients after surgery.

According to the hospital, Park underwent gastrectomy for stomach cancer at a hospital in the Busan area in 2004 and had no particular problems until recently, when he experienced anemia symptoms, postprandial abdominal discomfort, and persistent gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, leading to an upper endoscopy. The examination revealed a 6 cm tumor in the remaining stomach after surgery, and a biopsy confirmed stomach cancer.

Park had previously undergone not only stomach cancer surgery but also ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion for hydrocephalus and cholecystectomy, and was receiving medication for coronary artery occlusion. He had also been hospitalized three times for cerebral hemorrhage and was a high-risk patient with abdominal obesity.

Professor Noh Seong-hoon's team considered the large tumor invading the full thickness of the stomach wall and, after confirming no intraperitoneal metastasis laparoscopically, performed open surgery, successfully completing the operation in 3 hours and 47 minutes.

Park was closely monitored in the intensive care unit for stabilization and was transferred to a general ward on the third day after surgery. By the 14th day, he had recovered quickly enough to consume soft rice porridge and was discharged in good health.

Professor Noh said, “This patient is the oldest remnant stomach cancer surgery patient in Korea and abroad, requiring a highly difficult surgery,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to ensure stomach cancer patients can be completely cured through high-quality treatment.”

Professor Noh is recognized as the world’s leading authority on stomach cancer, having performed over 11,000 cumulative stomach cancer surgeries. The patient operated on this time is the fourth patient in their 90s on whom Professor Noh has performed stomach cancer surgery.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.