Retrosternal salvage reconstruction of esophageal discontinuity for a necrotic gastric tube after esophagectomy : A novel procedure

In patients with esophageal cancer, esophageal conduit necrosis is a catastrophic complication of esophagectomy that requires surgical restoration. Because such patients are generally fatigued, less-invasive surgery is encouraged whenever possible. Therefore, we trim the sternum minimally above the healthy part of the gastric conduit, expose its surface, and then make anastomoses between the remnant esophagus and the exposed gastric conduit using a free jejunal graft through a retrosternal-subcutaneous route. The risk involved with this procedure is low, because we avoid manipulation of the heavily inflamed lesion due to mediastinitis.