Endoscopic Management of Postoperative Esophageal and Upper GI Defects—A Narrative Review

Anastomotic defects are deleterious complications after either oncologic or bariatric surgery, leading to high morbidity and mortality. Besides surgical revision in early stages or instable patients, endoscopic treatment has become the mainstay. To date, many options for endoscopic treatment in this...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cecilia Binda, Carlo Felix Maria Jung, Stefano Fabbri, Paolo Giuffrida, Monica Sbrancia, Chiara Coluccio, Giulia Gibiino, Carlo Fabbri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-01-01
Series:Medicina
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/59/1/136
Description
Summary:Anastomotic defects are deleterious complications after either oncologic or bariatric surgery, leading to high morbidity and mortality. Besides surgical revision in early stages or instable patients, endoscopic treatment has become the mainstay. To date, many options for endoscopic treatment in this setting exist, including fully covered metal stent placement, endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT), endoscopic internal drainage with pigtail placement (EID), leak closure with through the scope or over the scope clips, endoluminal suturing, fibrin glue sealing and a combination of all these techniques. Current evidence is mostly based on retrospective single and multicenter studies. No guidelines exist in this important field. Treatment options have to be chosen upon each case individually, taking into account clinical and anatomic criteria, such as timing, size, infectious wound complications and hemodynamic stability. Local expertise and availability of treatment devices need to be taken into account whenever choosing a treatment strategy. This review aimed to present current treatment options in terms of effectiveness, advantages and disadvantages in order to guide the clinician for his decision making. Additionally, we aimed to provide a treatment algorithm.
ISSN:1010-660X
1648-9144