Outcomes of Esophageal Stent Therapy for the Management of Anastomotic Leaks.

Background: The purpose of this study was to present the optimal patient selection for esophageal stenting after esophageal resection to investigate possible factors leading to treatment success or treatment failure in these patients.

Methods: This was a prospective, observational study of patients from January 2005 to May 2019 with an esophageal anastomotic leak that were treated with a self-expandable stent (SES).

Results: A total of 34 patients were treated. All achieved technical success (100%); 33 (97%) achieved clinical success. No patient had to have reoperative surgery based on their leak management. The stenting in-hospital mortality was 0% with 1 patient (2%) with a 90-day mortality from possible leak-related death. Patients had their stents removed with a median of 106 days.

Conclusions: Stenting for an anastomotic leak after resection offers a safe and effective method of treatment and is successful in the majority of cases. Critical to success is optimal patient selection, adequate leak drainage, and optimal stent selection and placement.