Three-step operation for esophago-left bronchial fistula with respiratory failure after esophagectomy: a case report with literature review.

BACKGROUND: The development of esophago-bronchial fistula after esophagectomy and reconstruction using a posterior mediastinal gastric tube remains a rare complication associated with a high rate of mortality. CASE PRESENTATION: A 63-year-old man with esophageal cancer underwent a thoracoscopic esophagectomy with two-field lymph node dissection and reconstruction via a gastric tube through the posterior mediastinal route. Postoperatively, the patient developed extensive pyothorax in the right lung due to port site bleeding and hematoma infection. Four months after surgery, he developed an esophago-left bronchial fistula due to ischemia of the cervical esophagus and severe reflux esophagitis at the site of the anastomosis. Because of respiratory failure due to the esophago-bronchial fistula and the history of extensive right pyothorax, right thoracotomy and left one-lung ventilation were thought to be impossible, so we decided to perform the surgery in three-step systematically. First, we inserted a decompression catheter and feeding tube into the gastric tube as a gastrostomy and expected neovascularization to develop from the wall of the gastric tube through the anastomosis after this procedure. Second, 14 months after esophagectomy, we constructed an esophagostomy after confirming blood flow in the distal side of the cervical esophagus via gastric tube using intraoperative indocyanine green-guided blood flow evaluation. In the final step, we closed the esophagostomy and performed a cervical esophago-jejunal anastomosis to restore esophageal continuity using a pedicle jejunum in a Roux-en-Y anastomosis via a subcutaneous route. CONCLUSION: This three-step operation can be an effective procedure for patients with esophago-left bronchial fistula after esophagectomy, especially those with respiratory failure and difficulty in undergoing right thoracotomy with left one-lung ventilation.

Acase of advanced colon cancer arising from a colonic graft foran esophago-bronchial fistula : A case report.

Neoplasm of a colonic graft after esophageal reconstruction is rare. We treated a colon cancer patient who developed malignancy in a colonic graft after esophagectomy and reconstruction through a retrosternal route. A male had undergone esophagectomy in his 50s due to a benign esophago-bronchial fistula. His dysphagia became exacerbated 20 years later, and further examinations showed a circumferential tumor on the esophagocolonic anastomosis. He underwent resection of the colonic graft adenocarcinoma with median sternotomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Gastric tube reconstruction was performed through a retrosternal route. This report should be informative in terms of making decisions from an initial reconstruction to follow-up and choosing a therapeutic strategy for colonic graft cancer in the future. J. Med. Invest. 66 : 190-193, February, 2019.

Diagnosis and endoscopic treatment of esophago-bronchial fistula due to gastric heterotopy.

Heterotopic gastric mucosa patches are congenital gastrointestinal abnormalities and have been reported to occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. Complications of heterotopic gastric mucosa include dysphagia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, upper esophageal ring stricture, adenocarcinoma and fistula formation. In this case report we describe the diagnosis and treatment of the first case of esophago-bronchial fistula due to heterotopic gastric mucosa in mid esophagus. A 40-year old former professional soccer player was referred to our department for treatment of an esophago-bronchial fistula. Microscopic examination of the biopsies taken from the esophageal fistula revealed the presence of gastric heterotopic mucosa. We decided to do a non-surgical therapeutic endoscopic procedure. A sclerotherapy catheter was inserted through which 1 mL of ready to use synthetic surgical glue was applied in the fistula and it closed the fistula opening with excellent results.