title: Effective management of intrathoracic anastomotic leak with covered self-expandable metal stents. Report on three cases.
abstract: Intrathoracic anastomotic leakage is one of the major complications of esophageal surgery that can lead to high mortality rate. Depending on the clinical presentation, therapeutic options include surgical reintervention and conservative management with or without external drainage or stenting. In this paper, we report a series of three patients, two men and one woman, mean age of 55.6 years (range 34-68 years), having intrathoracic anastomotic leak after esophagogastrectomy treated by insertion of four covered self-expandable metal stents performed exclusively under fluoroscopic view. Complete resolution of the leakage was obtained in all patients. Despite the limited number of patients, conservative management of intrathoracic anastomotic leaks with covered self-expandable metal stents performed under fluoroscopic guidance has proved to be rapid, safe, and effective in all cases of this series.
authors.affiliation: Service of Radiology, Paolo Dattori Hospital, 07029 Tempio Pausania, Italy. stefanoprofili@gmail.com
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Profili
authors.forename: Claudio F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Feo
authors.forename: Maria Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cossu
authors.forename: Antonio M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Scanu
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scognamillo
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Meloni
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scaglione
authors.forename: Giovanni B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Meloni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015607:Stents; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D013909:Thorax / Q000473:pathology