[Endoscopic treatment of esophageal anastomotic leakage using vacuum-assisted closure system]. / Éndoskopicheskoe lechenie nesostoiatel'nosti pishchevodnykh anastomozov s ispol'zovaniem vakuumno-aspiratsionnoi sistemy.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effectiveness of vacuum-assisted closure system for esophageal anastomotic leakage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were 10 patients with upper gastrointestinal anastomotic leakage who were treated at our institution in 2015-2018. Vacuum aspiration system was applied in all cases. RESULTS: Esophageal wall defect was successfully closed in 9 out of 10 patients after 2-4 courses and the system was eliminated in 11 days on the average. Localized cavity with granulation tissue developed in 1 patient after 5 courses and the system was also eliminated. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic vacuum-assisted therapy is an innovative, minimally invasive, economically profitable and successful method for anastomotic leakage. This procedure should be taken into consideration and widely used in multi-field hospitals.

[The development of severe methemoglobinemia in patients receiving "Almagel A"].

This clinical case and the literature review show possible development of methemoglobinemia due to the use of local anesthetics, included in drugs for the gastrointestinal diseases treatment, in particular benzocaine, which is the methaemoglobin forming agent. These drugs are common and often taken by the patients themselves without any control. The aim of our paper is to draw the attention of physicians to the risk of the widely known drug administration which can be purchased without a prescription.