ObjectiveTo determine the influence of high BMI on postoperative complications in a cohort of squamous esophageal cancer patients. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 450 consecutive esophageal cancer patients who underwent esophagectomy in our hospital from September 2010 through November 2012 year. The patients were divided into three groups. Forty-five patients were classified as a low BMI group (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), 304 patients were classified as a normal BMI group (18.5≤BMI < 25.0 kg/m2), and 101 patients as a high BMI group (BMI≥25.0 kg/m2). Patients' demographics, tumor characteristics, and postoperative complications were compared among the three groups. ResultsThe comorbidity of diabetes was higher in the high BMI group compared with the other two groups (P=0.025). Longer operative time, wound infection or delayed healing were more frequent in the high BMI group (P=0.010 and P=0.039, respectively). Pneumonia and length of hospital stay had a tendency to increase in the high BMI group (P=0.052 and P=0.081, respectively). However, the differences did not reach statistical significance. There was no statistical difference in pulmonary embolism, respiratory failure, anastomotic leakage, vocal code paresis, chylothorax, other organ damage, reoperation, arrhythmia, or in-hospital mortality among the three groups. ConclusionsHigh BMI has a negative impact on postoperative morbidity after esophagectomy. However, overweight is not a postoperative complications which should always be paid attention to.
Abstract: Objective To discuss the probable pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnostic and treatment methods, and prognosis of intramural esophageal dissection (IED), in order to improve diagnostic and therapeutic levels for IED. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of one patient suffering from circumferential intramural dissection of whole thoracic esophagus with inflammation of false lumen and localized esophageal perforation treated in the First People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University in February 2010. The 56 years female underwent right exploratory thoracotomy through a standard posterolateral incision in the fifth intercostal space with the whole diseased esophagus resected and the stomach anastomosed through retrosternal tunnel to the cervical intact esophagus in the left neck. Case reports with integral clinical data in recent 10 years’ literature were reviewed through PubMed searching system with the keyword being intramural esophageal dissection or intramural esophageal hematoma. Results The patient was finally cured by whole thoracic esophagectomy and discharged at postoperative day 14. Halfyear followup result was satisfactory. Thirteen cases with integral clinical data were reviewed. The major manifestations were mainly chest and dorsal pain, odynophagia and dysphagia, and occasional hematemesis. Diagnosis was mainly based on esophagography, endoscope and CT. Twelve patients were cured or remitted after conservative therapy, endoscopic therapy or surgical therapy. One patient died after surgical exploration. Conclusions IED is arare disease, and esophagography, endoscope and CT are important diagnostic methods. IED is widely regarded as benign process which responds to conservative managements and endoscopic treatments. However, in some severe cases, we suppose that removal of the diseased esophagus is more reliable.
Esophageal cancer is a common gastrointestinal cancer，and the incidence in China is the highest in the world. Esophagectomy represents the gold standard for patients with resectable esophageal cancer，but postoperative morbidity and mortality rates remain high. In recent years，there have been many reports on the pathogenesis of morbidity and mortality after esophagectomy without reaching any concrete conclusion. This review focuses on the pathogenesis，prophylaxis and therapeuticsof pulmonary infection after esophageal cancer resection．
Esophagectomy and extensive lymphadenectomy still remain effective treatment strategies for patients with resectable esophageal carcinoma (EC). However,traditional esophagectomy is performed via open approaches and associated with significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. In order to reduce morbidity and mortality after esophagectomy,various minimally invasive techniques have been introduced to esophagectomy by many medical centers,and minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has been widely developed in thoracic surgery. MIE has been proven to be a safe and feasible approach for the treatment of EC. Compared with open esophagectomy,MIE can reduce surgical blood loss,achieve complete and standardized tumor resection and lymph node dissection,and obtain equivalent long-term survival results. However,there are still controversies in some aspects of MIE for the treatment of EC,and the superiority of MIE has not been fully demonstrated. In this review,we focus on five aspects of MIE for the treatment of EC,including MIE techniques,perioperative outcomes,completeness and standard of tumor resection,long-term survival results and current problems.
Abstract: Due to complicated procedures and severe trauma, esophagectomy still remains an operation with high mortality and morbidity. With the advancement of anesthetic and surgical technique, as well as perioperative management, the mortality and morbidity after esophagectomy decreased significantly in recent years. The optimal perioperative management, normalized and individualized treatment was of importance in preventing postoperative complications and decreasing mortality after esophagectomy. This review summarizes the current state of perioperative management for esophagectomy.
ObjectivesTo compare the clinical efficacy of different surgical thoracic duct management on prevention of postoperative chylothorax and its impact on the outcome of the patients. MethodsWe searched the electronic databases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2016), Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cohort studies and case-control studies related to the comparison of different surgical thoracic duct management during esophagectomy on prevention of postoperative chylothorax from inception to May 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then RevMan 5.2 software was used for meta-analysis. ResultsTwenty-three trials were included, involving four RCTs, four cohort studies and 15 case-control studies. The results of meta-analysis indicated:(1) Prophylactic thoracic duct ligation group had lower incidence of postoperative chylothorax compared with non thoracoic duct ligation group (RCT:OR=0.20, 95%CI 0.09 to 0.47, P=0.000 02; Co/CC:OR=0.20, 95%CI 0.14 to 0.28, P<0.000 01); (2) There were no significant differences between the two groups in the respect of mortality, morbidity and the 2-year, 3-year, 5-year survival rates (all P values >0.05); (3) Prophylactic thoracic duct ligation could reduce the reoperation rate of chylothorax complicating esophageal cancer patients (RCT:OR=0.17, 95%CI 0.10 to 0.28, P<0.000 01; Co/CC:OR=0.18, 95%CI to 0.11 to 0.32, P<0.000 01), and increase the cure rate of expectant treatment on them (OR=0.25, 95%CI 0.11 to 0.56, P=0.000 8); (4) En bloc thoracic duct ligation group had a lower incidence of postoperative chylothorax compared with single thoracic duct ligation group (OR=3.67, 95%CI 1.43 to 9.43, P=0.007). ConclusionProphylactic thoracic duct ligation during esophagectomy could effectively reduce the incidence of postoperative chylothorax and is good for reducing the reoperation rate of chylothorax complicating esophageal cancer patients. En bloc thoracic duct ligation has a better efficacy on prevention of postoperative chylothorax compared with single thoracic duct ligation.
ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility of thoracolapascopic esophagectomy (TLE) without routine nasogastric (NG) intubation for patients with esophageal cancer (EC). MethodsClinical data of 78 EC patients under-going TLE without perioperative NG intubation in Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January to September 2013 were analyzed (non-NG intubation group, including 48 male and 30 female patients with their age of 61.1± 8.5 years). Seventy-eight EC patients undergoing TLE with routine NG intubation for 7 days in 2012 were chosen as the control group (NG intubation group, including 50 male and 28 female patients with their age of 60.3±7.0 years). Operation time, postoperative morbidity, gastrointestinal functional recovery and patient discomfort were compared between the 2 groups. ResultsThere was no in-hospital death in either groups. There was no statistic difference in the incidences of pulmonary infection (16.7% vs. 19.2%, P=0.676), anastomotic leakage (1.3% vs. 2.6%, P=0.560) or NG tube replacement (3.8% vs. 2.6%, P=0.649) between non-NG intubation group and NG intubation group. Time for recovery of intestinal motility (2.5± 1.1 days vs. 4.3±1.2 days, P < 0.05) and time for air evacuation (3.6±1.7 days vs. 5.8±2.1 days, P < 0.05) of non-NG intubation group were significantly shorter than those of NG intubation group. Ninety-seven percent of the patients (76/78)in NG intubation group had uncomfortable feeling including dry mouth and sore throat, and only 6% of the patients (5/78) in non-NG intubation group had nausea. All the patients were followed up for 3 months after discharge. There was no intestinal obstruction, pneumonia or late anastomotic leakage during follow-up. ConclusionTLE without routine NG intubation is safe and feasible for EC patients, which can not only reduce patients' discomfort but also improve early recovery of gastrointestinal function.
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.
Barrett’s esophagus is considered an important risk factor for the pathogenesis of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Treatment strategies for diseases from high-grade dysplasia （HGD） to adenocarcinoma are different. The recurrence rates of endoscopic treatment and anti-reflux surgery are comparatively higher. Abnormal lesions of the esophagus can be completely resected by esophagectomy for the treatment of HGD to adenocarcinoma, and treatment outcomes are confirmed.But appropriate surgical strategies and lymph node dissection scopes should be chosen according to different cancer staging.Lymph node metastasis is a major factor in determining prognosis.
ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of thoracic duct ligation (TDL) on metabolism and postoperative complications during esophagectomy in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).MethodsWe conducted a retrospective clinical data analysis of 230 esophageal carcinoma patients with T2DM who underwent esophagectomy in our hospital from January 2003 to December 2018. Patients were divided into a TDL+ group (n=112), including 78 males and 34 females aged 63.47±7.23 years, and a TDL– group (n=118), including 84 males and 34 females aged 64.38±7.57 years. We compared the blood glucose, liver function parameters and lipid metabolic parameters at different time points before and after surgery. In addition, we compared the postoperative major complications between the two groups. Propensity score-matched (PSM) was used to control the observed confounders.ResultsCompared with the TDL– group, patients in TDL+ group had higher blood glucose level (P<0.05, except the fourth postoperative day). The total protein and albumin levels on the first and fourth postoperative days in the TDL+ group were lower than those in the TDL– group (P<0.05). The alanine transaminase (P=0.027) and aspartate transaminase (P=0.007) levels on the fourth postoperative day in the TDL+ group were higher than those in the TDL– group. More pulmonary complications (P=0.014) and anastomotic leaks (P=0.047) were found in the TDL+ group.ConclusionGiven that TDL may aggravate metabolic disorders, increase anastomotic leaks and the pulmonary complications, it is cautious to perform TDL, and prophylactic TDL should not be performed routinely for patients with T2DM.