Assessment of the blood flow in various gastric tubes for esophageal substitutes

Comparative studies were done on canine gastric tubes of various widths with the objective of obtaining the maximal blood flow at the proposed area of anastomosis, when the gastric tube was to be used as an esophageal substitute. The left and the right gastric arteries and veins and the short gastric artery and vein were divided, and the lesser curvature side was variously dissected in parallel to the greater curvature. The tissue blood flow, as determined by the hydrogen clearance method, revealed the highest value in the 3-cm-wide gastric tube. The vascular network was well preserved in various sized gastric tubes, except in those of 1.5 cm. These findings suggest that a gastric tube of potential length with a sufficient blood supply can be realized by optimal tailoring.