ObjectiveTo investigate the application value of modified gastric tube in surgery for mid- and lowerthoracic esophageal cancer compared with gastric tube. MethodsA total of 221 patients with mid- and lower-thoracic esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy between October 2009 and June 2013 in our hospital were recruited in the study. They were randomly divided into a modified gastric tube group (n=108) and a gastric tube group (n=113). There were 67 males and 41 females at age of 63.50±6.75 years (ranged 47-73 years) in the modified gastric tube group, including 62 cases of middle esophageal cancer and 46 cases of lower esophageal cancer. There were 69 males and 44 females at age of 63.38±7.21 years (ranged 49 to 76 years) in the gastric tube group, including 68 cases of middle esophageal cancer and 45 cases of lower esophageal cancer. The results of surgery and morbidities were recorded. The respiratory functions were recorded at 3 days before surgery, 1 week and 4 weeks after surgery, respectively. ResultsAll surgeries were successfully performed in two groups. There was 1 case of death and 1 case of anastomotic leakage in the gastric tube group. There was no death or anastomotic leakage occurred in the modified gastric tube group. There was statistical difference in the operation time between the modified gastric tube group and the gastric tube group (150.65±11.88 min vs. 174.58±11.99 min, P<0.05). There were no statistical differences in the amount of bleeding during operation or the length of hospital stay between two groups (P>0.05). There were no statistical differences in respiratory function between two groups at 1 week or 4 weeks after surgery (P>0.05). ConclusionFor patients with mid- and lower-thoracic esophageal cancer, modified gastric tube has a good clinical application value compared with gastric tube. It is easy and safe, and can decrease the operation time without aggravation of pulmonary function after operation. It is a better esophagus reconstruction method in esophagectomy for mid- and lower-thoracic esophageal cancer in primary hospitals.
ObjectiveTo explore clinical outcomes of complete mechanical cervical side-to-side esophago-gastric tube anastomosis. MethodsClinical data of 60 patients with esophageal carcinoma (EC)who underwent complete mechanical cervical side-to-side esophago-gastric tube anastomosis in the 153rd Central Hospital of People's Liberation Army from June 2010 to June 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 41 male and 19 female patients with their age of 46-78 (64.2±6.4)years and body weight of 58.6±12.6 kg. There were 39 patients with mid-thoracic EC, 15 patients with lower-thoracic EC, and 6 patients with upper-thoracic EC. There was 1 patient with stageⅠ EC, 32 patients with stage Ⅱ EC, 23 patients with stage Ⅲ EC, and 4 patients with stage Ⅳ EC. Six to 12 months after the operation, all the patients received a survey questionnaire regarding their quantity and quality of food intake as well as gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Fifty-two patients received barium swallow, and 38 patients received gastroscopy and esophageal mucosal biopsy during follow-up. ResultsAll the 60 patients were successfully discharged. Average length of hospital stay was 12.0±2.6 days. Average time for anastomosis was 18.4±3.2 minutes. The incidence of anastomotic leak was 1.7% (1/60). During follow-up, all the 60 patients restored normal food intake, and 14 patients (23.3%)had GER symptoms. Barium swallow showed the average anastomotic diameter of 1.6±0.2 cm (range, 1.2 to 2.2 cm). In 45° trendelenburg position, 31 patients (59.6%)had barium GER, but none of the patients had prolonged barium retention, intrathoracic gastric dilation or disturbed gastric emptying. Gastroscopy of 38 patients showed full anastomotic opening in 24 patients (63.2%)and irregular or semiclosed anastomosis in the other 14 patients (36.8%). Mucosal biopsy under gastroscopy showed chronic inflammation in 18.4% (7/38)patients. ConclusionComplete mechanical cervical side-to-side esophago-gastric tube anastomosis can significantly prevent anastomotic stenosis, leak and intrathoracic stomach symptoms with good clinical outcomes.
Objective To compare short-term quality of life and postoperative complications in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients with different routes reconstruction after McKeown esophagectomy. Methods The clinical data of 144 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who received McKeown esophagectomy in Shanghai Chest Hospital from January 2016 to October 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them 93 patients accepted retrosternal approach (a RR group, 71 males and 22 females at an average age of 63.5±7.7 years) and 51 patients accepted posterior mediastinal approach (a PR group, 39 males and 12 females at an average age of 62.3±8.0 years). Short-term surgical outcomes were compared and a Quality of Life Questionnaire of Patients Underwent Esophagectomy 1.0 was performed at postoperative 1st and 3rd month. Results There was no difference in two groups in sex, age, Body Mass Index (BMI), and location and clinical stage of tumors (P>0.05). The neoadjuvant therapy was more performed in the RR group (16.1%vs. 5.9%, P=0.075). There were more robot-assisted esophagecctomy operations performed in the PR group (52.9% vs. 45.2%, P=0.020). No significant difference was noted in operation duration, intraoperative blood loss or length of ICU stay between the RR and PR groups (251.3±59.1 min vs. 253.1±27.7 min, P=0.862; 223.7±75.1 ml vs. 240.0±75.1 ml, P=0.276; 3.7±6.6 d vs. 2.3±2.1 d, P=0.139). The patients in the PR group had more lymph nodes dissected and shorter hospital stay (P<0.001). Rate of R1/2 resection was higher in the RR group (12.9%vs. 5.9%, P=0.187). No surgery-related mortality was observed in both groups. The anastomotic leak and the anastomotic stricture was higher in the RR group than that in the PR group (25.8% vs. 5.9%, P=0.003). No significant difference was found between the two groups in the quality of life at postoperative 1st and 3rd month. However, the quality of life at postoperative 3rd month significantly improved in both groups (P<0.001). Compared with the PR group, the dysphagia was more severe in the RR group at postoperative 1st month (3.3±1.5 vs. 2.6±1.1, P=0.007), while the reflux symptom was lighter at postoperative 3rd month (3.0±1.8 vs. 3.6±1.6, P=0.045). Conclusion The two different routes reconstruction after McKeown esophagectomy are both safe and feasible. The anterior mediastinal approach increases the risk of anastomotic leak, but with low incidence of reflux symptom.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the complications and quality of life (QoL) in patients with esophageal cancer after esophagectomy using gastric tube. MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the postoperative complications and QoL of patients using gastric tube and the whole stomach reconstruction were electronically searched in PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Knowledge, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data from inception to September 30th, 2013. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed methodological quality. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 10 RCTs involving 1 085 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, in terms of postoperative complications, the incidences of reflux esophagitis (OR=0.19, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.32, P < 0.000 01) and intrathoracic stomach syndrome (OR=0.11, 95%CI 0.04 to 0.32, P < 0.000 1) with gastric tube were significantly lower than those of the whole stomach; in terms of QoL, the scores of QoL in the 6th month (MD=18.71, 95%CI 7.72 to 29.71, P=0.000 9) and in the 12th month (MD=22.95, 95%CI 8.21 to 37.69, P=0.002) with gastric tube were significantly higher than those of the whole stomach. In terms of satisfaction degree of QoL, the satisfaction degree of QoL in the 6th month (OR=1.78, 95%CI 1.10 to 2.88, P=0.02) and the 12th month (OR=2.73, 95%CI 1.67 to 4.47, P < 0.000 1) with gastric tube were both significantly higher than those of the whole stomach. ConclusionCompared with the whole stomach reconstruction, the method of gastric tube reconstruction has beneficial effects in reducing the incidences of postoperative complications (such as reflux esophagitis, intrathoracic stomach syndrome) and improves patients' QoL. But there are many uncertain factors about postoperative anastomotic complication and its influence on patients' long-term QoL remains uncertain. Thus, further studies should be conducted.
Abstract： Objective To investigate the clinical application of tubular stomach in cervical esophageal reconstruction after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Methods A total of 850 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy through cervico-thoraco-abdominal（3-field）approach between January 2007 and January 2009 in North Jiangsu Hospital were allocated into the tubular stomach group（group A, n=425） and the whole stomach group （group B, n=425）by operation order. Group A included 287 male and 138 female patients with their average age of 58.2±11.5 years. Among them, 27 patients had upper esophageal cancer, 346 patients had middle esophageal cancer and 52 patients had lower esophageal cancer. Group B included 298 male and 127 female patients with their average age of 58.5±12.8 years. Among them, 33 patients had upper esophageal cancer, 338 patients had middle esophageal cancer, and 54 patients had lower esophageal cancer. Operation time, postoperative length of hospital stay and the incidence of anastomotic leakage, anastomotic stricture, intra-thoracic stomach syndrome and reflux esophagitis of the two groups were compared. Results All the patients recovered uneventfully with no in-hospital death. There was no statistical difference in operation time （175.0±12.8 min vs.171.0±10.5 min，t=1.702，P＞ 0.05）and postoperative length of hospital stay （16.0±8.5 d vs.16.3±8.8 d，t=1.773，P＞ 0.05） between the two groups. During follow-up of six months, the rates of anastomotic leakage（χ2=5.550，P＜ 0.05）, intra-thoracic stomach syndrome （χ2=10.500，P＜ 0.05）and reflux esophagitis（χ2=9.150，P＜ 0.05） of group A were significantly lower than those of group B. There was no significant difference in the incidence of anastomotic stricture （χ2=0.120，P＞ 0.05） between the two groups. Conclusion Tubular stomach is better than whole stomach for cervical esophageal reconstruction after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer since it is more physiologically and anatomically complied. It can decrease the incidence of anastomotic leakage, intra-thoracic stomach syndrome, reflux esophagitis and improve the postoperative quality of life.
Using gastric tube to replace the esophagus has been widely used in esophagectomy. This surgical method is gradually replacing the traditional stomach reconstruction. Its advantages in the incidence of postoperative complication, the quality of life and the long-time survival in clinic have proved to be true. Although using tubular stomach in esophagectomy has become the consensus of experts, some details still need some further discussing and this technique should be gradually improved in future. In this review, the superiority and the technical progress of gastric tube are introduced, and we predict the future of tubular stomach and discuss the existed problems.
Objective To compare the outcome of tubular stomach and cervical esophagus laminated anastomosis and mechanical anastomosis. Methods A total of 128 patients with middle and upper esophageal cancer in our hospital from January 2013 to January 2016 were randomly divided into two groups, 64 patients in each group and all patients underwent esophagectomy. In the group A, there were 46 males and 18 females with age of 40–75 years, treated with tubular stomach and cervical esophagus layered anastomosis. There were 51 males and 13 females with age of 43–71 years in the group B receiving mechanical anastomosis. We observed the short-term and long-term efficacy as well as complications. Results In the group A, there was cervical anastomotic fistula in 1 patient, anastomotic stenosis in 2 patients and reflux esophagitis in 12 patients. In the group B, 1 patient suffered chylothorax, 8 patients cervical anastomotic fistula, 4 patients anastomotic stenosis and 14 patients reflux esophagitis. Conclusion Layered anastomosis can effectively reduce the incidence of anastomotic fistula and stenosis. Tubular stomach can effectively prevent and reduce the reflux esophagitis, and the high long-term quality of life will be achieved after the operation.
ObjectiveTo compare the clinical efficacy of cone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis and conventional tubular stomach combined with neck end-to-end mechanical side-to-side anastomosis in thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. MethodsThe clinical data of consecutive patients treated by thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the First People's Hospital of Neijiang from January 1, 2018 to March 25, 2021 were analyzed. The patients were divided into a cone-shaped gastric tube manual group (treated with cone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis) and a conventional tubular stomach mechanical group (treated with conventional tubular stomach+end-to-end mechanical side-to-side anastomosis). The anastomotic time, intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph node dissection, anastomotic fistula, anastomotic stenosis, anastomotic cost, sternogastric dilatation, gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and postoperative complications were compared and analyzed between the two groups. ResultsA total of 161 patients were enrolled, including 112 males and 49 females aged 40-82 years. There were 80 patients in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group, and 81 patients in the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group. There was no statistical difference in the intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes dissected, hoarseness, pulmonary infection, arrhythmia, respiratory failure or chylothorax between the two groups (P>0.05). The anastomosis time of the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group was longer than that of the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group (28.35±3.20 min vs. 14.30±1.26 min, P<0.001), but the anastomotic cost and incidence of thoracogastric dilatation in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were significantly lower than those of the conventional tubular stomach mechanical group [948.48±70.55 yuan vs. 4 978.76±650.29 yuan, P<0.001; 3 (3.8%) vs. 14 (17.3%), P=0.005]. The incidences of anastomotic fistula and anastomotic stenosis in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were lower than those in the conventional tubular gastric mechanical group, but the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The gastroesophageal reflux scores in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group were lower than those in the conventional tubular gastric mechanical group at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the operation (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that digestive tract reconstruction method was the influencing factor for postoperative thoracogastric dilation, which was reduced in the cone-shaped gastric tube manual group. ConclusionCone-shaped gastric tube combined with cervical end-to-end stratified manual anastomosis can significantly reduce the incidence of thoracogastric dilatation after thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer and save hospitalization costs, with mild gastroesophageal reflux symptoms, and it still has certain advantages in reducing postoperative anastomotic fistula and anastomotic stenosis, which is worthy of clinical promotion.