Successful treatment of cervical esophageal leakage by endoscopic-vacuum assisted closure therapy

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic-vacuum assisted closure (E-VAC) therapy in the treatment of cervical esophageal leakage.METHODS: Between May and November 2012, three male patients who developed post-operative cervical esophageal leakage were treated with E-VAC therapy. One patient had undergone surgical excision of a pharyngo-cervical liposarcoma with partial esophageal resection, and the other two patients had received surgical treatment for symptomatic Zenker’s diverticulum. Following endoscopic verification of the leakage, a trimmed polyurethane sponge was fixed to the distal end of a nasogastric silicone tube and endoscopically positioned into the wound cavity, and with decreasing cavity size the sponge was positioned intraluminally to cover the leak. Continuous suction was applied, and the vacuum drainage system was changed twice a week.RESULTS: The initial E-VAC placement was technically successful for all three patients, and complete closure of the esophageal leak was achieved without any procedure-related complications. In all three patients, the insufficiencies were located either above or slightly below the upper esophageal sphincter. The median duration of the E-VAC drainage was 29 d (range: 19-49 d), with a median of seven sponge exchanges (range: 5-12 sponge exchanges). In addition, the E-VAC therapy reduced inflammatory markers to within normal range for all three patients. Two of the patients were immediately fitted with a percutaneous enteral gastric feeding tube with jejunal extension, and the third patient received parenteral feeding. All three patients showed normal swallow function and no evidence of stricture after completion of the E-VAC therapy.CONCLUSION: E-VAC therapy for cervical esophageal leakage was well tolerated by patients. This safe and effective procedure may significantly reduce morbidity and mortality following cervical esophageal leakage.     

Tuberous sclerosis patient with neuroendocrine carcinoma of the esophagogastric junction: A case report

BACKGROUNDTuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare inherited disease with non-cancerous tumor growths in the skin, brain, kidneys, heart, and lungs. The co-occurrence of neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN) with TSC is even rarer. There have been few reports on the relationship between TSC and neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), and fewer on the relationship between TSC and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC), a subtype of NEN. This is the first reported case of NEC occurring at the esophagogastric junction in a patient with TSC.CASE SUMMARYA 46-year-old woman visiting our hospital for the treatment of TSC was admitted to the emergency department with tarry stools and dizziness. Computed tomography scans revealed thickness of the gastric cardia, multiple metastatic lesions of the liver, and enlarged lymph nodes near the lesser curvature of the stomach. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a type 3 tumor located from the esophagogastric junction to the fundus, and the pathological diagnosis by biopsy was NEC. The patient was treated with seven courses of cisplatin + irinotecan, followed by eight courses of ramucirumab + nab-paclitaxel, one course of nivolumab, and two courses of S-1 + oxaliplatin. Twenty-three months after the first treatment, the patient died because of disease progression and deterioration of the general condition.CONCLUSIONThis case of NEC occurring in a patient with TSC indicates a difference in the occurrence of NETs and NECs.     

Managing esophagocutaneous fistula after secondary gastric pull-up: A case report

BACKGROUNDGastric pull-up (GPU) procedures may be complicated by leaks, fistulas, or stenoses. These complications are usually managed by endoscopy, but in extreme cases multidisciplinary management including reoperation may be necessary. Here, we report a combined endoscopic and surgical approach to manage a failed secondary GPU procedure.CASE SUMMARYA 70-year-old male with treatment-refractory cervical esophagocutaneous fistula with stenotic remnant esophagus after secondary GPU was transferred to our tertiary hospital. Local and systemic infection originating from the infected fistula was resolved by endoscopy. Hence, elective esophageal reconstruction with free-jejunal interposition was performed with no subsequent adverse events.CONCLUSIONA multidisciplinary approach involving interventional endoscopists and surgeons successfully managed severe complications arising from a cervical esophagocutaneous fistula after GPU. Endoscopic treatment may have lowered the perioperative risk to promote primary wound healing after free-jejunal graft interposition.     

Endoscopic approach to gastric remnant outlet obstruction after gastric bypass: A case report

BACKGROUND Acute gastric remnant bleeding is a rare complication of bariatric surgery. Furthermore, acute bleeding from the gastric remnant resulting in gastric remnant outlet obstruction has not been described previously. Endoscopic management of gastric remnant bleed has been challenging due to difficulty accessing the excluded stomach. Traditionally, this necessitates surgical intervention. Recently, however, the adoption of endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric intervention provides an alternative approach to management.CASE SUMMARY A 65-year-old male with a prior gastric bypass presented with the sudden onset of progressive abdominal distension, nausea, and melena of two days duration. His imaging illustrated a massively distended stomach. A nasogastric tube did not result in drainage of fluid or decompression of his abdomen. His endoscopy revealed a normal-appearing gastro-jejunal anastomosis and confirmed the distended "fluid"-filled gastric remnant. An endoscopic ultrasound-directed gastrogastrostomy was created to decompress the gastric remnant. Two liters of blood was suctioned before a large adherent clot was visualized in the gastric antrum. The patient underwent emergent angiography with embolization of the gastroduodenal artery. He was discharged with a stable hemoglobin level and resolution of symptoms. Healing superficial gastric ulcers were visualized on a follow-up endoscopy. Gastric biopsies were consistent with Helicobacter pylori infection for which the patient was treated, and successful eradication was achieved.CONCLUSION This patient benefited from a timely diagnosis and effective therapy of an acute gastric remnant obstruction from a bleeding ulcer with endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric intervention.     

Eosinophilic cholangitis: A case report of diagnostically challenging eosinophilic infiltrative biliary obstruction

BACKGROUND Evaluation of biliary strictures primarily focuses on ruling out malignancy in older age groups. With endoscopic tools such as endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)and cholangioscopy, improved biliary visualization has enhanced the investigation of intraluminal biliary lesions and provided modalities for targeted biopsies. Benign biliary strictures, however, may pose a diagnostic dilemma.CASE SUMMARY A 71-year-old female with past medial history of hypothyroidism presenting for abnormal biliary imaging. Patient's previous evaluation was concerning for common bile duct dilation with cholelithiasis, for which she underwent a cholecystectomy. Due to persistent symptoms and worsening liver function tests,she presented to our institution for further workup. Subsequently, the patient underwent an EUS and multiple ERCP's with cholangioscopy; biliary biopsies revealed no evidence of malignancy but concerning for prominent eosinophilic infiltration. After further review of multiple pathology specimens and the benign clinical course, we diagnosed the patient with eosinophilic cholangitis.CONCLUSION Eosinophilic cholangitis is a rare disease and can present as a challenging case diagnostically. This case raises the potential utility of quantitative eosinophilic infiltration reporting in creating an objective diagnostic metric for eosinophilic cholangitis.     

Primary gastric dedifferentiated liposarcoma resected endoscopically: A case report

BACKGROUNDLiposarcoma is one of the most common adult mesenchymal tumors but is uncommon in the gastrointestinal tract and extremely rare in the stomach. Furthermore, the histological subtypes of liposarcoma usually reported in the stomach are well-differentiated or myxoid, and few reports have been issued on small-sized gastric liposarcomas resected endoscopically and followed up. Herein, we report a case of primary gastric dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DL) that was resected endoscopically.CASE SUMMARYA 67-year-old female Korean patient was referred to our institution for further evaluation of a gastric submucosal tumor (SMT) located in the lesser curvature of the gastric body by esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Endoscopic ultrasound revealed a well-circumscribed, slightly heterogeneous, isoechoic, 17 mm × 10 mm sized mass originating from the third sonographic layer. Computed tomography showed no evidence of significant lymph node enlargement or distant metastasis. Endoscopic resection was undertaken using the snare resection technique after mucosal precutting to provide a definitive histopathologic diagnosis, which proved to be consistent with DL, based on its morphology and the immunoexpressions of MDM2 and CDK4. The patient was planned for surgery because the deep resection margin was positive for malignancy. After declining any invasive procedure or adjuvant treatment, the patient was placed under close follow-up, and at one year after endoscopic resection, remained disease free.CONCLUSIONThis is the first reported case of a small primary gastric DL resected endoscopically and followed up. This report demonstrates that when diagnosis of a SMT is uncertain, the use of invasive techniques, including endoscopic resection, should be considered.     

Oesophageal carcinoma mimicking a submucosal lesion: A case report

BACKGROUND Oesophageal cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in India. Esophageal squamous cell carcinomas(ESCCs) arise from the epithelial layer, and commonly present as polypoidal, ulcerative or ulceroproliferative growth in the oesophageal lumen. In contrast, oesophageal submucosal tumours are a distinct group of tumours arising from the mesenchyme(examples include leiomyoma, fibrovasculoma, lipoma, granular cell tumour or carcinoid), and mostly do not breach the mucosa. Oesophageal submucosal tumours are a distinct group of tumours arising from the mesenchyme, and mostly do not breach the mucosa. Complete intramural growth of an advanced primary ESCC is an exceedingly rare presentation, with only six cases reported in the literature thus far. We herein report a case of primary ESCC with complete intramural invasion that endoscopically mimics a submucosal lesion.CASE SUMMARY A 50 year old male presented with a progressive mechanical type of dysphagia for one month. His history was significant, including squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue that was treated with surgery and chemoradiation 1 year prior. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a large, hemispherical lesion with normalappearing overlying mucosa about 4 cm × 5 cm in size extending from 30-34 cm from incisors. The patient underwent endoscopic ultrasound(EUS), and a fineneedle biopsy was performed, which was suggestive for squamous cell carcinoma. We herein report a case of primary ESCC with complete intramural invasion, endoscopically mimicking a submucosal lesion. The diagnosis could be established only by a EUS-guided biopsy.CONCLUSION This case report highlights that intramural ESCC may look like a submucosal lesion in endoscopy, and EUS biopsy is needed for final diagnosis.     

Spontaneous expulsion of a duodenal lipoma after endoscopic biopsy: A case report

BACKGROUNDGastrointestinal (GI) lipomas are benign submucosal tumors of mature adipocytes that arise mainly in the colon and stomach, sometimes in the ileum and jejunum, and rarely in the duodenum. Patients with symptomatic lipomas require endoscopic or surgical treatment. Spontaneous expulsion of lipomas after biopsy is a rare condition that has limited case reports.CASE SUMMARYA 56-year-old man presented to our hospital with intermittent postprandial epigastric fullness. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed a 10-mm soft yellowish submucosal lesion with the “pillow sign,” located in the second portion of duodenum. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) using a 12-MHz catheter probe showed a hyperechoic, homogenous, and round solid lesion (OLYMPUS EUS EU-ME2, UM-DP12-25R, 12-MHz radial miniprobe, Olympus Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). Deep biopsy was performed using the bite-on-bite technique with forceps. Histological examination was compatible with submucosal lipoma. The lesion spontaneously expelled 12 d after the biopsy. Follow-up EUS performed after 2 mo confirmed this condition.CONCLUSIONDeep biopsy could lead to spontaneous GI lipoma expulsion. This might be the first step in lipoma diagnosis and treatment.     

Successful treatment of an enormous rectal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma by endoscopic full-thickness resection: A case report

BACKGROUNDColorectal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (MALToma), a rare kind of nongastric MALToma, lacks consensus on its endoscopic features and standard therapies. According to previous studies on the clinical characteristics and outcomes of colorectal MALToma, endoscopic resection remains a good therapeutic strategy.CASE SUMMARYA 71-year-old woman suffered intermittent hematochezia for 1 mo, accompanied with abdominal pains but without weight loss, fever, chills or fatigue. Colonoscopy showed a massive hemispheric mass with rough and hyperemic mucosa in the lower rectum. Narrow-band imaging magnifying endoscopy detected some branching abnormal blood vessels and disappearance of glandular structure, which was similar with the tree-like appearance sign in gastric MALToma. Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed the lesion to be hypoechoic, boundary-defined, and echo uniform inside, originating from the muscularis propria. Abdominal enhanced computed tomography (CT) demonstrated a soft tissue mass with defined boundary. No enlarged superficial lymph nodes were detected by B-mode ultrasound. C¹³-urea breath test and serum Helicobacter pylori antibody were both negative. The patient underwent endoscopic full-thickness resection. Postoperative pathological analysis indicated colorectal MALToma. The patient remained asymptomatic after discharge, and follow-up positron emission tomography–CT and colonoscopy showed no residual lesion, remnants or lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONThis case provides new information on the specific endoscopic features of colorectal MALToma and an alternative treatment for patients.     

Gastric schwannoma treated by endoscopic full-thickness resection and endoscopic purse-string suture: A case report

BACKGROUNDSchwannomas, also known as neurinomas, are tumors that derive from Schwann cells. Gastrointestinal schwannomas are extremely rare, but the stomach is the most common site. Gastric schwannomas are usually asymptomatic. Endoscopy and imaging modalities might offer useful preliminary diagnostic information. However, to diagnose schwannoma, the immunohistochemical positivity for S-100 protein is essential, whereas CD117, CD34, SMA, desmin, and DOG-1 are negative.CASE SUMMARYA 45-year-old female was found to have a gastric mass during a medical examination, which was diagnosed as a gastric schwannoma. We performed endoscopic full-thickness resection and endoscopic purse-string suture. Pathology and immunohistochemical staining confirmed the diagnosis of gastric schwannoma through the positivity of S-100 protein. Furthermore, to exclude the misdiagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor, we performed a mutational detection of the c-Kit and PDGFRA genes. Postoperative follow-up revealed that the patient recovered well.CONCLUSIONImmunohistochemical staining is essential for the diagnosis of schwannoma. Endoscopic full-thickness resection is an effective treatment method for gastric schwannoma.     

Septic shock due to Granulicatella adiacens after endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy of a splenic mass: A case report

BACKGROUND Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration or biopsy(EUS-FNA or FNB)has become a popular method for diagnosing various lesions of the gastrointestinal tract and surrounding tissue due to the accuracy and safety.To the best of our knowledge,no case report of severe infection after EUS-FNB of a solid lesion in the spleen has been described.Herein,we report a rare case of septic shock after EUS-FNB of a splenic mass.CASE SUMMARY A 45-year-old male patient presented to the outpatient clinic due to an incidentally detected splenic mass.A definitive diagnosis could not be established based on the abdominal magnetic resonance imaging.EUS of the spleen showed a 6 cm-sized,relatively well-demarcated,heterogeneous mass,and EUS-FNB with a 22G needle was performed.Ten days after the procedure patient developed septic shock and a splenic abscess was identified.Blood culture revealed growth of Granulicatella adiacens.After the treatment with antibiotics the patient underwent surgical resection,and the pathological examination showed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.The patient received chemotherapy and he is in complete remission.CONCLUSION Infection of a splenic mass after EUS-FNB is a rare complication and prophylactic antibiotics might be considered.     

Repeat full-thickness resection device use for recurrent duodenal adenoma: A case report

BACKGROUND Endoscopic full-thickness resection of adenomas or subepithelial tumors is a novel and promising endoscopic technique. There have been several recent studies of full-thickness resection device (FTRD) use in the colon, but data regarding its use and efficacy in the duodenum are still limited.CASE SUMMARY A 64-year-old female underwent resection of a recurrent adenoma of 7 mm in size in the duodenum after FTRD use for an adenoma eight months prior. The biopsies revealed a low-grade adenoma. The adenoma was removed using the gastroduodenal FTRD, and the pathology results revealed clear margins. Except for minor bleeding that was treated by argon plasma coagulation, no further complications occurred.CONCLUSION Repeat use of the FTRD appears to be a safe and efficacious approach for the treatment of recurrent duodenal lesions. Further prospective studies are needed to investigate the long-term safety and utility of repeat FTRD use after Endoscopic full-thickness resection.