Anastomotic narrowing after esophagogastrectomy with the EEA stapling device.

We studied a series of 176 patients undergoing esophageal resection with the aid of the EEA surgical stapling device (Auto Suture U.K. Limited, Great Britain) during a period of 7 1/2 years. A total of 160 patients (91%) were operated on for malignant disease. Operative death occurred in 15 patients (8.5%), and there were three anastomotic leaks (1.7%). The prevalence of dysphagia caused by both benign and malignant strictures after esophageal resection in which the EEA stapler was used was 17.4%. The rate of benign anastomotic narrowing in discharged patients was 12.5%. Anastomotic stricture resulting from recurrent tumor caused dysphagia in 6.2% of the patients undergoing resection for malignant disease. The highest rate of benign anastomotic narrowing occurred in patients who had undergone esophageal resection for benign, nondilatable strictures. In these patients, the prevalence of benign anastomotic narrowing was 37.5%, compared with 9.6% in the patients undergoing resection for malignant disease (p less than 0.001). An additional trend was noted: The smaller the stapling head used to construct the anastomosis, the higher the prevalence of benign anastomotic narrowing; however, a statistically significant difference could not be documented. Ninety-five percent of patients with benign anastomotic narrowings complained of dysphagia within the first 6 months after the operation; 79% of these patients required two or fewer dilatations to relieve the dysphagia. Dysphagia after esophageal resection with the aid of EEA stapler occurred in just over one of six patients. The usual cause of the dysphagia was benign anastomotic narrowing, which responds well to dilatation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)