LAUSR

The circular stapled (CS) technique with transoral placement of the anvil is commonly used to perform the esophago-gastric anastomosis during minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE). The procedure is safe, efficient and highly reproducible, however the intersection between the circular plane of the stapler and the linear staple line of the esophageal stump can expose the anastomosis to the formation of dog ears and therefore increase the risk of anastomotic leakage (AL). We describe a simple modification of the CS technique that avoid the formation of staple lines intersection. We prospectively collected data on a small group of patients who underwent MIE for cancer using our modified CS technique. Our technical modification consists in folding the linear esophageal transection line with a stitch around the anvil shaft, in order to include the staple line in the resection during the EEATM firing (figure 1). Feasibility has been evaluated as the percentage of cases in which the improved anastomosis technique has been carried out successfully with the formation of a complete anastomotic ring. Safety has been defined as the absence of procedure related complications. MIE was performed in ten patients using our modified CS technique, median age was 55 years. All the procedures were successfully completed with complete resection of the linear esophageal staple line and no intraoperative complication. Only one patient developed a postoperative AL, that was only detected by barium swallow and did not cause any symptom or clinical sign. Our modified CS technique is simple, feasible and safe. Further studies are needed to evaluate its efficacy in preventing the occurrence of anastomosis leakage.