Vacuum Therapy For Anastomotic Leak Research Articles

Successful endoscopic management of a large esophageal defect due to Boerhaave syndrome with endoscopic vacuum therapy using vacuum sponge and vacuum stent

Video 1Successful endoscopic management of a large esophageal defect due to Boerhaave syndrome with endoscopic vacuum therapy using EsoSponge and VACStent.

Endoscopy vacuum therapy for anastomotic leak after oesophagectomy – A single centre’s experience

Background: Anastomotic leak is one of the major complications following oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer and associated with a prolonged ICU and hospital stay with high mortality. Over the years, endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) has an evolving role in managing anastomotic leak. The aim of this study was evaluate our experience in the use of EVT in managing anastomotic leak.

OGC P34 Endoscopy vacuum therapy for anastomotic leak after oesophagectomy – A single centre's experience

Abstract Background Anastomotic leak is one of the major complications following oesophagectomy and is associated with a prolonged ICU and hospital stay with high mortality. Over the years, endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) has an evolving role in managing anastomotic leak. The aim of this study was evaluate our experience in the use of EVT in managing anastomotic leak. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in patients who underwent elective oesophagectomy at our tertiary centre from May 2021 to April 2022. Patient demographics, complication profiles, length of stay (LOS) and survival outcomes were collected. The details of endoscopic procedure, therapy results, and adverse events were evaluated. Endo-SPONGE® by B Braun Medical Ltd was used at our centre. Results Over the last 12 months, 3 out of 11 patients (27.3%) who had anastomotic leak were treated with EVT. All 3 patients were males and diagnosed with anastomotic leak on Day 8, 9, 9. Two patients were treated with a stent at the time of the diagnosis and the management changed to Endo-Sponge on the subsequent endoscopy as the defect increased in size. They required 3 and 8 times of sponge exchange respectively. One patient was managed with Endo-Sponge at the time of diagnosis and required 7 times of sponge exchange. The successful anastomotic leak healing rate was 100% and none of them required further endoscopic or surgical interventions. The median changing time interval of sponges was 3 days (range 2–5 days). The average sponge exchange rate was 6 times. The median duration of EVT was 25 days (range 18–29 days). No other adverse events occurred during EVT. The average LOS was 49.3 days. Conclusions EVT is an effective and safe treatment option in patients with anastomotic leak post oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer. With careful patient selection, EVT can be considered as the first-line treatment instead of surgery. Future studies involving a greater number of patients are essential to evaluate the efficacy of EVT.

Author commentary on Carlo Felix Maria Jung et al.

Carlo Felix Maria Jung et al. Endoscopic internal drainage and low negative-pressure endoscopic vacuum therapy for anastomotic leaks after oncologic upper gastrointestinal surgery

626 ENDOSCOPIC VACUUM THERAPY FOR ANASTOMOTIC LEAK IN ESOPHAGECTOMY AND TOTAL GASTRECTOMY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Abstract One of the main complications related to esophagogastric surgery, due to esophageal and gastric cancer, is the anastomotic leak. The placement of endoluminal stents is the most frequent endoscopic therapy in these cases. However, since its introduction, endoscopic vacuum therapy has been shown to be a promising alternative. This study primarily aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic vacuum therapy for the treatment of anastomotic leak in esophagectomy and total gastrectomy. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Studies that evaluated the use of endoscopic vacuum therapy for anastomotic leak in esophagectomy and total gastrectomy were included. Results Twenty-three articles were included. A total of 559 patients were evaluated. Endoscopic vacuum therapy showed a fistulous orifice closure rate of 81.6% (rate: 0.816; 95% CI: 0.777–0.864) and, when compared to the stent, there is a 16% difference in favor of endoscopic vacuum therapy (risk difference [RD]: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.05–0.27). The risk for mortality in the endoscopic vacuum therapy was 10% lower than in endoluminal stent therapy (RD: −0.10; 95% CI: −0.18 to −0.02). Conclusion Endoscopic vacuum therapy might have a higher rate of fistulous orifice closure and a lower rate of mortality, compared to intraluminal stenting.

Endoscopic internal drainage and low negative-pressure endoscopic vacuum therapy for anastomotic leaks after oncologic upper gastrointestinal surgery.

Endoscopic internal drainage (EID) with double-pigtail stents or low negative-pressure endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) are treatment options for leakage after upper gastrointestinal oncologic surgery. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of these techniques. Between 2016 and 2019, patients treated with EID in five centers in France and with EVT in Göttingen, Germany were included and retrospectively analyzed using univariate analysis. Pigtail stents were changed every 4 weeks; EVT was repeated every 3-4 days until leak closure. 35 EID and 27 EVT patients were included, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) leak size of 0.75 cm (0.5-1.5). Overall treatment success was 100 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 90 %-100 %) for EID vs. 85.2 % (95 %CI 66.3 %-95.8 %) for EVT (P = 0.03). The median (IQR) number of endoscopic procedures was 2 (2-3) vs. 3 (2-6.5; P = 0.003) and the median (IQR) treatment duration was 42 days (28-60) vs. 17 days (7.5-28; P < 0.001), for EID vs. EVT, respectively. EID and EVT provide high closure rates for upper gastrointestinal anastomotic leaks. EVT provides a shorter treatment duration, at the cost of a higher number of procedures.

Endoscopic vacuum therapy for anastomotic leak in esophagectomy and total gastrectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The National Cancer Institute (INCA) estimates that in 2020, in Brazil, there will be 32,620 new cases of esophageal and gastric cancer. In addition, it is estimated that in the period 1979-2018, the two neoplasms have caused 672,390 deaths in the country. The curative treatment, for both esophageal and gastric cancer, is primarily surgical resection, that is, esophagectomy and gastrectomy, respectively. One of the main complications related to esophagogastric surgery is anastomotic leak (incidence between 0 and 30%). This complication is associated with a prolonged length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and hospitalization, reduced quality of life, high treatment costs and an increased mortality rate. The placement of endoluminal stents is the most frequent endoscopic therapy in these cases. However, since its introduction, endoscopic vacuum therapy has been shown to be a promising alternative in the management of this complication. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic vacuum therapy for the treatment of anastomotic leak in esophagectomy and total gastrectomy, providing the best evidence currently available.

Endoscopic vacuum therapy for anastomotic leak in esophagectomy and total gastrectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The curative treatment for esophageal and gastric cancer is primarily surgical resection. One of the main complications related to esophagogastric surgery is the anastomotic leak. This complication is associated with a prolonged length of stay, reduced quality of life, high treatment costs, and an increased mortality rate. The placement of endoluminal stents is the most frequent endoscopic therapy in these cases. However, since its introduction, endoscopic vacuum therapy has been shown to be a promising alternative in the management of this complication. This study primarily aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic vacuum therapy for the treatment of anastomotic leak in esophagectomy and total gastrectomy. A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Studies that evaluated the use of endoscopic vacuum therapy for anastomotic leak in esophagectomy and total gastrectomy were included. Twenty-three articles were included. A total of 559 patients were evaluated. Endoscopic vacuum therapy showed a fistulous orifice closure rate of 81.6% (rate: 0.816; 95% CI: 0.777-0.864) and, when compared to the stent, there is a 16% difference in favor of endoscopic vacuum therapy (risk difference [RD]: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.05-0.27). The risk for mortality in the endoscopic vacuum therapy was 10% lower than in endoluminal stent therapy (RD: -0.10; 95% CI: -0.18 to -0.02). Endoscopic vacuum therapy might have a higher rate of fistulous orifice closure and a lower rate of mortality, compared to intraluminal stenting.

Endoscopic vacuum therapy for anastomotic leak after esophagectomy: a single-center's early experience.

Anastomotic leak is a serious complication after esophagectomy. Endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) has become increasingly popular in treating upper gastrointestinal anastomotic leaks over the last years. We are here reporting our current complete experience with EVT as primary treatment for anastomotic leak following esophagectomy. This is a retrospective study analyzing all patients with EVT as primary treatment for anastomotic leak after esophagectomy between November 2016 and January 2020 at Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden. The primary endpoint was anastomotic fistula healing with EVT only. Twenty-three patients primarily treated with EVT after anastomotic leak following esophagectomy were included. Median duration of EVT was 17days (range 5-56) with a median number of 3 (range 1-14) vacuum sponge changes per patient. A total number of 95 vacuum sponges were placed in the entire cohort, of which 93 (97.9%) were placed intraluminally and 2 (2.1%) extraluminally. The median changing time interval of sponges was 5days (range 2-8). Successful fistula healing was achieved in 19 of 23 patients (82.6%), of which 17 (73.9%) fistulas healed with EVT only. There were 2 (8.7%) airway fistulas following EVT. No other adverse events occurred. Three patients (13%) died in-hospital. In conclusion EVT seems to be a safe and feasible therapy option for anastomotic leak following esophagectomy. The effect of EVT on the risk for development of airway fistulas needs to be addressed in future studies and until more data are available care should be taken regarding sponge positioning as well as extended treatment duration.

Stent Therapy Versus Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy for Anastomotic Leaks After Esophagectomy

Stent Therapy Versus Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy for Anastomotic Leaks After Esophagectomy

Endoluminal vacuum therapy for anastomotic leaks after rectal surgery

Anastomotic leakage after rectal surgery is a very serious complication and is the main cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality. We describe three cases of rectal leakage which we treated with endoscopic vacuum-assisted closure. We used the Endo-SPONGE (B. Braun Aesculap AG, Germany), which consists of an open-cell, cylindrical polyurethane sponge connected to a drainage tube which is linked to a vacuum system to exert constant suction. The possible role of this new tool in the management of anastomotic leaks is also discussed.