Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy in the Management of Postoperative Leakage After Esophagectomy

Jae Hyun Jeon, Soyoung Lee, Wan Jin Hwang, Mincheol Chae, Woohyun Jung, Yoohwa Hwang, Sukki Cho, Sanghoon Jheon, Kwhanmien Kim

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

Purpose : Postoperative leakage after esophagectomy is associated with significant life-threatening complications. Recently, endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) was introduced and has been successfully used as a new treatment option. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of EVT for the management of postoperative leakage after esophagectomy.

Methods : A total of 24 patients were treated with either intraluminal or intracavitary EVT for the management of postoperative leakage from May 2012 to April 2019. The location of leakage was intrathoracic in 18 patients and cervical in 6 patients. The outcomes of EVT were analyzed retrospectively.

Results : Complete postoperative leakage closure was achieved in 21 of 24 patients. The median duration of EVT application was 14 days (range, 2–103), and a median of 3 EVT systems (range, 1–14) were used. In 21 patients who were successfully managed with EVT, oral feeding was possible a median of 15 days after the first day of treatment. There were no cases of mortality related to postoperative leakage.

Conclusion : EVT is a well-tolerated and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of various types of postoperative leakage after esophagectomy.

책임저자: Kwhanmien Kim

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

발표자: Jae Hyun Jeon, E-mail : fine1114@hanmail.net