Endoscopic vacuum assisted closure of esophagogastric anastomosis dehiscence:A case report

BACKGROUND Esophagogastric leakage is one of the most severe postoperative complications.Partial disruption of the anastomosis,can be successfully treated with an endoscopic vacuum assisted closure(E-VAC).The advantage of that method of treatment is the ability to adjust a vacuum dressing individually to the size of the dehiscence and thus to reduce the risk of a secondary fistula or abscess.The authors present two patients with postoperative gastroesophageal leakage treated successfully with E-VAC.CASE SUMMARY Two male patients developed a potentially life threatening esophagogastric leakage.Patient A underwent resection of the distal half of the esophagus and upper part of the stomach due to Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction.Proximal resection of the stomach was performed in the patient B after massive bleeding from Mallory-Weiss tears.Both patients were treated successfully with an individually adapted E-VAC with concomitant correction of fluid and electrolyte disturbances,and treatment of sepsis with appropriate antibiotics.CONCLUSION Endoscopic vacuum closure is an effective alternative to endoscopic stenting or relaparotomy.Through individual approach it allows a more accurate assessment of healing.