Experimental study of an artificial esophagus using a collagen sponge, a latissimus dorsi muscle flap, and split-thickness skin.

The time and effort spent trying to devise an artificial esophagus have not yet resulted in success, and leakage and strictures at the anastomotic sites remain the most frequent complications. We developed an artificial esophagus with a bilayered structure made of porous collagen sponge (artificial dermis; AD), a latissimus dorsi muscle flap (LD), and split-thickness skin (STS). We investigated whether the use of AD prevented the contraction of grafted skin and its effects on the extensibility of the neoesophagus in rabbits. We experimented with two groups. In the AD group, AD was applied to the surface of the LD. Three weeks later, the STS was grafted. In the control group, the STS was grafted directly onto the LD. The sizes of the STS in both groups 3 weeks after the graft were, respectively, 56.6% +/- 4.1% and 39.0% +/- 10.2% of the initial surface area of the STS (P < 0.01). The roll made in the AD group had better extensibility than that in the control group. We replaced the cervical esophagus in 12 rabbits with the neoesophagus made from AD, STS, and LD. The longest survival period was 16 days. Esophagography did not reveal either anastomotic leakage or stenosis in any of the five rabbits in the experiments. These findings suggested that AD can thus be used to create a more suitable hybrid artificial esophagus.