Efficacy of free anterolateral thigh flap and free jejunum in reconstruction for hypopharyngeal and cervical esophagus.

OBJECTIVES

Because of its peculiar anatomical location, most patients with hypopharyngeal and cervical esophageal cancer are at advanced stage when they visit the hospital. At present, the treatment for hypopharyngeal and cervical esophageal cancer is primarily surgical resection and radiotherapy. However, due to the wide range of surgical resection, it can often lead to a large range of annular defects. Therefore, the upper digestive tract reconstruction after tumor resection is very important. We use the free anterolateral thigh flap (ALT) and free jejunum (FJ) transfer to reconstruct the hypopharyngeal and cervical esophagus, and to investigate the effect of both reconstruction methods on upper gastrointestinal tract defects.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted to investigate the clinical data of 42 patients with hypopharyngeal and cervical esophageal cancer (Clinical Stage IV) from Jan. 2004 to Jan. 2016 in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. All patients underwent total laryngopharyngectomy and cervical esophageal resection. The hypopharyngeal circumferential and cervical esophageal defects were reconstructed with free ALT (=22) or FJ (=20). Four patients who underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy before surgery did not receive radiotherapy or chemotherapy after surgery. The remaining 38 patients underwent postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy. All patients were followed up by telephone or outpatient review, with a follow-up deadline in Jan. 2021. We compared the differences between the 2 groups in postoperative complications, radiotherapy complications, and survival rate. The differences in individual characteristics between 2 groups were analyzed using Fisher test. The differences in postoperative and radiotherapy complications between two groups were analyzed using χ² test. The 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival curve method.

RESULTS

In the ALT group, the postoperative complications mainly included anastomotic fistula, chylous fistula and subcutaneous hematoma of the donor site. The radiotherapy complication was anastomotic stenosis. However, in the FJ group, the postoperative complications mainly included chylous fistula, intestinal obstruction, and intestinal fistula. The radiotherapy complications mainly contained anastomotic fistula and tissue flap necrosis. The cases of postoperative complications in the ALT group and the FJ group were 7 and 5, respectively (=0.625), and the cases of radiotherapy complications were 3 and 4, respectively (=0.563). The 3-year overall survival rates in the ALT group and the FJ group were 52.9% and 46.7%, respectively, and the 5-year total survival rates were 35.1% and 31.9%, respectively (=0.53). The cases of anastomotic stenosis after radiotherapy in the ALT group were more than those in the FJ group (=0.097). However, the cases of jejunal necrosis and anastomotic fistula after radiotherapy in the FJ group were more than those in the ALT group (=0.066).

CONCLUSIONS

There are no significant differences in postoperative and radiotherapy complications and 3-and 5-year survival rates between the ALT group and the FJ group. The reconstruction with ALT is prone to develop anastomotic stricture. The reconstruction with FJ cannot withstand high-dose radiotherapy. The ALT and FJ are effective methods in the reconstruction of hypopharynx and cervical esophagus. The treatment protocol should be carefully chosen based on its advantages and disadvantages of these 2 methods.