A spiral-grooved endoesophageal tube for management of malignant esophageal obstruction.

Dysphagia is common in patients with cancer of the esophagus or cardia. The rate of resectability of the lesion is low, and the majority of patients require palliation to relieve the dysphagia. Esophageal intubation is a simple, safe method at present. However, migration of the tube is a frequently reported complication. To prevent dislodgment of the tube, an esophageal tube with spiral grooves and a distal ring has been devised and used in 334 patients in the Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. There have been no operative deaths. The postoperative complication rate was 15%; migration of the tube comprised only 2.7% of that figure.