Gastric tube reconstruction prevented esophageal reflux after proximal gastrectomy

Although the standard operation for early cancer of gastric cardia is proximal gastrectomy followed by jejunal interposition, we recently reported a simple and useful technique for proximal gastrectomy with gastric tube reconstruction. The operative procedures included resection of the proximal two-thirds of the stomach, followed by anastomosis between the esophagus and gastric tube, using a circular stapler (Proximate ILS 25; Ethicon, Cincinnati, OH, USA). The gastric tube was about 20 cm long and 4 cm wide. The patient a 76-year-old man had no reflux symptoms such as heartburn, retrosternal pain, and regurgitation. Endoscopy showed no evidence of reflux esophagitis, including mucosal redness, erosion, and ulceration. Ambulatory 24-h pH monitoring indicated that the pH of the lower esophagus was between 6 and 8 when the patient was upright and between 5 and 7 when he was in the supine position. There were nine reflux episodes during the day, and no reflux episode while he was asleep. The duration of each reflux episode was less than 1 min, and the total reflux time was 1 min in the 12-h day (0.1%). These data indicate that reconstruction by gastric tube may prevent esophageal reflux in patients who have undergone proximal gastrectomy for early cancer of the gastric cardia. Received for publication on Apr. 27, 1998; accepted on Aug. 19, 1998