Beneficial effect of prostaglandin E1 on blood flow to the gastric tube after esophagectomy

Intraoperative Thermal Imaging in Esophageal Replacement: Its Use in the Assessment of Gastric Tube Viability

“…If anastomotic stricture can be caused by poor blood supply at the anastomosis site, then this result stands to reason and prostaglandin E 1 administration, which has been proven for the augmentation in the microcirculation of the gastric tube, might prevent minor anastomotic leakage or anastomotic stricture when the surface temperature of proximal gastric tube is relatively low. 24 Although this preliminary study was conducted in a small number of patients and therefore requires a larger number of cases to predict a minor anastomotic impairment, thermal imaging can at least predict gastric tube necrosis. Since the thermal imaging system is an easy, sensitive, rapid, and noninvasive method with a high reproducibility in detecting gastric viability after devascularization or gastric tube construction, the practical application of thermal imaging systems may therefore be become a valuable technique for the reliable determination of gastric tube viability.…”

Preoperative risk analysis—a reliable predictor of postoperative outcome after transthoracic esophagectomy?

“…Anastomotic leakage is predominantly due to a compromised vascularization of the gastric conduit [13]. Therefore, recent investigations attempted to increase blood flow of the gastric tube by surgical and pharmacological means [14,15]. To reduce postoperative pulmonary and cardiac complications is more difficult because the majority of the patients with esophageal carcinoma present with a reduced general status and suffer from an organ dysfunction before esophageal surgery [7].…”

Postoperative recovery of microcirculation after gastric tube formation

“…This option requires special microsurgical skills and extends the operation time considerably. Application of pharmacological agents such as prostaglandin E1 has been suggested to induce vasodilation of the splanchnic region, improving tissue perfusion at the anastomotic site [21]. Ischaemic conditioning (delay phenomenon) of the gastric interposition is a concept that might help to reduce the leakage rate of the oesophagogastric anastomosis.…”