There is no correlation between a delayed gastric conduit emptying and the occurrence of an anastomotic leakage after Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy

Introduction Esophagectomy is the gold standard in the surgical therapy of esophageal cancer. It is either performed thoracoabdominal with a intrathoracic anastomosis or in proximal cancers with a three-incision esophagectomy and cervical reconstruction. Delayed gastric conduit emptying (DGCE) is the most common functional postoperative disorder after Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy (IL). Pneumonia is significantly more often in patients with DGCE. It remains unclear if DGCE anastomotic leakage (AL) is associated. Aim of our study is to analyze, if AL is more likely to happen in patients with a DGCE. Patients and methods 816 patients were included. All patients have had an IL due to esophageal/esophagogastric-junction cancer between 2013 and 2018 in our center. Intrathoracic esophagogastric end-to-side anastomosis was performed with a circular stapling device. The collective has been divided in two groups depending on the occurrence of DGCE. The diagnosis DGCE was determined by clinical and radiologic criteria in accordance with current international expert consensus. Results 27.7% of all patients suffered from DGCE postoperatively. Female patients had a significantly higher chance to suffer from DGCE than male patients (34.4% vs. 26.2% vs., p = 0.040). Pneumonia was more common in patients with DGCE (13.7% vs. 8.5%, p = 0.025), furthermore hospitalization was longer in DGCE patients (median 17 days vs. 14d, p < 0.001). There was no difference in the rate of type II anastomotic leakage, (5.8% in both groups DGCE). All patients with ECCG type II AL (n = 47; 5.8%) were treated successfully by endoluminal/endoscopic therapy. The subgroup analysis showed that ASA ≥ III (7.6% vs. 4.4%, p = 0.05) and the histology squamous cell carcinoma (9.8% vs. 4.7%, p = 0.01) were independent risk factors for the occurrence of an AL. Conclusion Our study confirms that DGCE after IL is a common finding in a standardized collective of patients in a high-volume center. This functional disorder is associated with a higher rate of pneumonia and a prolonged hospital stay. Still, there is no association between DGCE and the occurrence of an AL after esophagectomy. The hypothesis, that an DGCE results in a higher pressure on the anastomosis and therefore to an AL in consequence, can be refuted. DGCE is not a pathogenetic factor for an AL.

The Association of Vitamin D3 With Early Anastomotic Leakage in Patients Undergoing Hemicolectomy Surgery

Background Anastomotic leak (AL) is one of the most important postoperative complications after hemicolectomy with stapled anastomosis. This study aimed to evaluate the association of preoperative vitamin D3 with early anastomotic leakage after right colon cancer surgery with stapled anastomosis. Method In this prospective cohort study, 535 patients who underwent right colon cancer surgery (right hemicolectomy) with stapled anastomosis were enrolled. A subset of 315 patients was included in the study after meeting the inclusion criteria. Preoperative vitamin D level was measured and analyzed for association with early AL using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Result This study included 315 cases; among them, 18 (5.71%) patients developed early AL. Vitamin D3 was significantly higher among patients without early AL ( P < .001). Low vitamin D3 status was reported among 111 patients (35.2%) and 204 (64.8%) of patients did not have low vitamin D3 status (sufficient level = 30-100 ng/mL). Sufficient vitamin D3 levels before right colon cancer surgery with stapled anastomosis was associated inversely with early AL (crude OR = .89, 95% CI = .85-.94, P < .001 and adjusted OR = .89, 95% CI = .82-.98, P = .02). Conclusion The vitamin D3 level has a protective association with early AL. As a result, low vitamin D3 status may be a risk factor for early AL development, suggesting that it can be one of the predictors of early AL occurrence.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy do not significantly increase the incidence of anastomotic leakage after esophageal cancer surgery: a meta-analysis

Summary This study investigated whether neoadjuvant therapies, such as neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT), neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT), and neoadjuvant radiotherapy (NRT), would affect the incidence of anastomotic leakage (AL) after esophageal cancer surgery. Published randomized controlled trials were reviewed, and the incidence of AL after esophageal cancer was statistically analyzed in each study. Meta-analysis was performed using Revman and Stata software. A total of 17 randomized controlled trials with 2874 patients were reviewed showing that, in general, preoperative neoadjuvant therapies were not significant risk factors for AL after esophageal cancer surgery (relative risk [RR] = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.64–1.04). NCRT and NRT did not significantly increase the risk of postoperative AL in patients with esophageal cancer (RR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.63–1.05; RR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.14–2.97, respectively). Moreover, NCT has no significant correlation with the occurrence of AL (RR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.57–1.80). NCRT, NCT, and NRT do not significantly increase the incidence of gastroesophageal AL after esophageal cancer surgery.