Seven-year follow-up study after the replacement of the esophagus with an artificial esophagus in the dog.

An artificial esophagus was made of silicone rubber (Phycon) tube covered with a Dacron mesh. A segment of thoracic esophagus of 16 dogs was replaced with this graft using three different types of anastomosis--overlayer end-to-end anastomosis with flanged tube, two-layer end-to-end anastomosis with flanged tube, and monolayer end-to-end anastomosis with no flange tube. Seven of 16 dogs (44%) survived more than 12 months without complications, four of them surviving more than 6 years. In six of seven of the prolonged survivors, extrusion of the graft was recognized in the 3 to 6 months after operation. Esophageal stricture increased slightly up to 6 months after extrusion of the graft, but it did not further advance until sacrifice. In these dogs, mucosal regeneration of the neoesophagus was complete with muscle layers and mucous glands in the submucosa recognized microscopically. Proximal esophagus from the replaced portion was apparently dilatated more than that of the distal portion. There was no definite difference between the anastomotic techniques with regard to complication or prognosis. These results suggest that this artificial esophagus should be considered as a possibility for clinical trials in the future.