title: Hand-Sewn Versus Stapled Esophagogastric Anastomosis in the Neck: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
abstract: The application of cervical esophagogastric anastomoses was of great concern. However, between circular stapler (CS) and hand-sewn (HS) methods with anastomosis in the neck, which one has better postoperative effects still puzzles surgeons. This study aims to systematically evaluate the effectiveness, security, practicality, and applicability of CS compared with the HS method for the esophagogastric anastomosis after esophageal resection. A systematic literature search, as well as other additional resources, was performed which was completed in January 2013. The relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the surgical technique for esophageal resection were included. Trial data was reviewed and extracted independently by two reviewers. The quality of the included studies was assessed by the recommended standards basing on Cochrane handbook 5.1.0, and the data was analyzed via RevMan 5 software (version 5.2.0). Nine studies with 870 patients were included. The results showed that in comparing HS to CS methods with cervical anastomosis, no significant differences were found in the risk of developing anastomotic leakages (relative risk (RR) = 1.30, 95 % confidence intervals (CI) 0.87-1.92, p = 0.20), as well as the anastomosis stricture (RR = 0.97, 95 % CI 0.47-1.99, p = 0.93), postoperative mortality (RR = 0.83, 95 % CI 0.43-1.58, p = 0.57), blood loss (mean difference (MD) = 39.68; 95 % CI -6.97, 86.33; p = 0.10) and operative time (MD = 18.05; 95 % CI -3.22, 39.33; p = 0.10). However, the results also illustrated that the CS methods with cervical anastomosis might be less time-consuming and have shorter hospital stay and higher costs. Based upon this meta-analysis, there were no differences in the postoperative outcomes between HS and CS techniques. And the ideal technique of cervical esophagogastric anastomosis following esophagectomy remains under controversy.
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China ; The First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xi-Ran
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Hu
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: The First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: The First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Sheng-Liang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China ; The First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ke-Hu
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: Cervical anastomosis; Circular stapler; Esophagectomy; Hand-sewn; Meta-analysis; Systematic review