title: Endoscopic incision for the treatment of refractory esophageal anastomotic strictures: outcomes of 13 cases with a minimum follow-up of 12 months.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Endoscopic incision is an alternative method for refractory esophageal strictures; however, little is known about its long-term efficacy. The aim of the study is to assess the long-term outcomes of endoscopic incision for treating refractory esophageal anastomotic strictures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between September 2011 and September 2014, 13 patients with refractory esophageal anastomotic strictures were treated with endoscopic incision. Their clinical data were retrospectively collected to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the 13 patients underwent the procedure successfully with median operation duration of 15 minutes. A total of 27 sessions were necessary to maintain lumen patency until September 2015, and 7 patients needed retreatment. The symptoms relieved in all the cases, and the median dysphagia score decreased from 4 to 1 during a median follow-up of 25 months. The median diameter of stricture was enlarged from 4 mm to 12 mm. As a short-term effect, dysphagia symptoms improved in 100% (13/13), 84.6% (11/13) and 76.9% (10/13) of the patients one, three and six months after a single treatment. As long-term effect, the dysphagia improved in 61.5% (8/13), 63.6% (7/11) and 60% (6/10) of the patients 12, 18 and 24 months after a single treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The efficacy of endoscopic incision is favorable in the short term. However, retreatment is needed to maintain the long-term lumen patency for parts of the patients.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, .
authors.forename: Yuyong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South Unive, China.
authors.forename: Deliang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D004940:Esophageal Stenosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome