Laparoscopically Assisted, Tubular, Stomach Construction for the Radical Resection of Esophageal Cancer.

Context: Tubular esophagogastrostomy is a digestive-tract reconstruction method that has emerged in recent years. Relevant research on totally laparoscopic, tubular, gastroesophageal resections remains limited. Objective: The study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of totally laparoscopic, tubular, gastroesophageal resection for esophageal-cancer patients who underwent the procedure. Design: The research team designed a retrospective study of data from clinical files. Setting: The study took place in the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital in Chongqing, China. Participants: Participants were 199 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent totally laparoscopic, tubular gastrectomy at the hospital between January 2022 and September 2022. Outcome Measures: The research team measured: (1) the operations' lengths, (2) intraoperative blood loss, (3) the tubular stomach's length, (4) number of staples used, (5) total amount of thoracic drainage at 2 days postoperatively, (6) length of postoperative hospital stay, and (7) postoperative hospitalization stay. The research team also determined the incidence of postoperative complications, evaluated the surgical efficacy, and evaluated participants' quality of life. Results: A summary analysis of the data, such as chest drainage and other indicators, showed that the means of the indicators were: (1) total operation time-223.13 ± 17.34 min, (2) intraoperative blood loss-300.00 ± 30.22 mL, (3) the tubular stomach's length-34.43 ± 14.12 cm, (4) number of staples used-2.33 ± 0.9, (5) total amount of chest drainage-approximately 453.32 ± 32.44 mL over 2 days, and (6) postoperative hospitalization stay-approximately 15.43 ± 2.33 days. Regarding surgical complications out of the 199 participants: (1) three had pulmonary infections; (2) two had anastomotic leakage, (3) one had a residual gastric fistula, (4) 10 had pleural effusion, and 5 had incision infections. No participants had co-infections. At 2 months postintervention, participants' lung function was in good condition, with no reduction, and the participants were satisfied, according to self-assessments of their quality of life. No anastomotic fractures, delayed anastomotic leakage, dilatation of the chest and stomach, or reflux esophagitis occurred. No participants died or experienced a recurrence of cancer. Conclusions: Laparoscopically assisted, tubular stomach construction has a good clinical effect in patients with esophageal cancer and is worthy of promotion.