Comparison of the outcomes between total eversion and conventional triangulating stapling technique in cervical esophagogastric anastomosis after esophagectomy: a propensity score-matched analysis.

BACKGROUND

Anastomotic leakage and stenosis remain major problems after esophageal reconstruction. This study evaluated the clinical outcomes between the total eversion (TE) triangulating stapling technique (TST) and conventional (C) TST.

METHODS

The study included 404 consecutive patients with esophageal cancer who underwent cervical esophagogastrostomy by TST between January 2013 and December 2018. The postoperative outcomes were compared between TE-TST and C-TST using propensity score-matched analysis.

RESULTS

Before matching, the cT stage and the cTNM stage were different between the groups. After matching, each group consisted of 128 patients. The patients' background characteristics were similar between the groups. Although the incidence of anastomotic leakage was similar between the groups (p = 0.216), anastomotic stricture occurred in 19 (14.8%) and 7 (5.5%) patients in the C-TST and the TE-TST groups, respectively (p = 0.021).

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of anastomotic stenosis was significantly lower in the TE-TST group than in the C-TST group. TE-TST decreases the incidence of anastomotic stricture and can improve the quality of life in patients undergoing esophagectomy.