Endoscopic submucosal dissection by using Clutch cutter and IT knife 2 for early gastric cancer with severe submucosal fibrosis: a case report

Introduction: Gastric cancer is one of the highly malignant gastrointestinal cancers and the third leading cause of cancer death. In the last decade, early gastric cancer (EGC) has been reported by using narrow-band imaging (NBI) magnifying endoscopy. Advances in endoscopic techniques, such as endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), have enabled the en bloc resection of these EGC. Although ESD is performed for early gastric cancer, there are still many difficult problems in technique of this procedure. The difficulty of gastric ESD depends on the size and location of a tumor, presence of severe submucosal fibrosis, presence of ulceration... We report a case of our successful ESD by using Clutch cutter and IT knife 2 in treatment of EGC with severe submucosal fibrosis. Case presentation: A 62-year-old man felt an epigastric discomfort two months ago. The narrow-band imaging (NBI) magnifying endoscopy revealed a suspected early gastric cancer type 0 - IIa + IIc (Japanese classification of early gastrointestinal cancers) at the incisura angularis, the size of this lesion was 15 mm in diameter, and pathological result of endoscopic biopsy was a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. ESD was performed and we found there was severe submucosal fibrosis which was dissected safer and faster by using Clutch cutter and IT knife 2. There were no complications such as severe bleeding and perforation. The size of resected specimen was 60 x 35 mm and the time of procedure was 150 minutes. After ESD, the pathological result was a well differentiated adenocarcinoma, pT1a, UL(-), LY(-), V(-), no cancer cell in vertical and horizontal margins. The healing time of ESD-induced ulcer was 5 weeks without local recurrence. Conclusion: Through this case, we aim to emphasize the importance of using Clutch cutter and IT knife 2 as a modified technique which makes ESD a safe procedure in treatment of EGC with severe submucosal fibrosis.