Surgical treatment of traumatic intrathoracic esophageal perforations by foreign bone / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the staging criteria and surgical treatment strategy of traumatic intrathoracic esophageal perforations by foreign bone.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-seven patients with intrathoracic esophageal perforations caused by foreign bone in our department from January 1980 to June 2006 were studied. Patients were divided into 4 grades: grade I was esophageal perforation without mediastinitis (n=17), grade II was esophageal perforation with severe mediastinitis (n=13), grade III was esophageal perforation with severe empyema (n=21), grade IV was esophageal perforation with tracheal or aorto-esophageal fistula (n=6). Based on the stage of esophageal perforation, operative procedures were selected including esophagotomy, esophageal repair, esophagectomy, mediastinal drainage, and esophagus reconstruction with colon.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In grade I, II and III, all but one patient experienced satisfactory healing of the esophagus. One patient died of multi-organ failure from septic complication. No leakage was observed. Normal swallowing function and improved weight gain was achieved in all the patients. There were 2 deaths in grade IV (2/6).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Grading of esophageal perforation caused by foreign bone is helpful to the decision of surgical treatment strategy.</p>

Clinicopathological analysis of esophageal carcinosarcoma:a report of 22 cases / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics and surgical treatment of esophageal carcinosarcoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The patients with esophageal carcinosarcoma were divided into two types according to barium swallow: intraluminal carcinosarcoma (n=20) and fungating carcinosarcoma (n=2). Only one esophageal carcinosarcoma case was diagnosed by esophagoscopic biopsy preoperatively. Twenty patients underwent left thoracic approach esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy above aortic arch, and two patients underwent esophagectomy and esophagogastrostomy below aortic arch.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the cases survived during operation and had no severe complication. Post-operative biopsy revealed that 21 cases had definite boundary between the carcinoma and the sarcoma. Only one case showed the invasion of carcinomatous tissues into sarcomatous tissues and mixed growth. Four cases had lymph node metastases (18.2%). The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 90.9% (20/22), 77.3% (17/22) and 68.2% (15/22) respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Esophageal carcinosarcoma is a rare malignant tumor with little invasiveness, low lymph node metastasis, early clinical symptom occurrence, low preoperative accurate diagnostic rate and good prognosis. Surgical resection is the main treatment for esophageal carcinosarcoma.</p>

Observation on the long-term complications after esophageal replacement with colon / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the etiology and preventive measures of the long-term postoperative complication after esophageal replacement with colon for esophageal benign disease.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>To review the clinical data of 577 patients with esophageal replacement with colon our department, including 123 cases of esophageal benign disease. Of all, there were 25 cases-time for 11 cases following with severe complication: redundancy and dilated colon 12 cases-time, severe stricture of stoma 4, macrocyst esophagus 2, colon-stomach stoma expansion 4, mechanical obstruction of colon 3. The etiology included iatrogenic and functionality. The therapy included stricture form or resection, redundancy segment resection, obstructed segment solution and stoma resection and form.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Eight cases underwent once operation, 2 case twice, 1 case three times. After operation, 9 cases took food normally, 2 improved symptoms obviously.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The iatrogenic and functionality factor contributed to severe complication after esophageal replacement with colon for esophageal benign disease. The preventive measure is followed during operation: cervical esophageal-colon anastomosis exceed 2.5 centimeter, abdominal colon-stomach anastomosis reflux, channel width of colon passage, intestinal canal lay up straight. Re-operation is best choice to for local stricture, colon expansion, redundancy and dilated colon.</p>