Gastric Transposition for Repair of Long-Gap Esophageal Atresia: Indications, Complications, and Outcome of Minimally Invasive and Open Surgery.

Background: Gastric transposition (GT) is a possible option for esophageal replacement in long-gap esophageal atresia (LGEA). The present study aims to report and compare indications and outcome of laparoscopic-assisted GT (LAGT) versus open (OGT) GT for LGEA repair.

Methods: Retrospective single-center analysis of all LGEA patients undergoing GT between 2002 and 2021.

Results: Thirty-one children with LGEA underwent GT. Of these, 19 underwent LAGT (mean weight at surgery 5.6 kg; mean age 167 days) and 12 underwent OGT (6.1 kg; 233 days). Indications for OGT were previous surgery (n = 7), associated severe cardiac malformations (n = 4), and a simultaneous resection of a choledochal cyst (n = 1). The conversion rate was 1. The two procedures (LAGT/OGT) differed in anesthetic time (308/350 min), duration of ventilation (5.1/5.3 days), hospital stay (34/32 days), and complications (22/15). None of the differences reached statistical significance. Outcome was also comparable: completely oral nutrition uptake in 66%/73%, slow weight gain in the low centiles in both groups, no patient developed dumping syndrome, symptomatic reflux was seen in 1 patient after OGT.

Conclusion: In our cohort, LAGT for repair of LGEA provided similar outcomes as open surgery. The minimally invasive approach preserves thoracal structures, prevents additional thoracotomy or laparotomy, and is faster. To realize LAGT, a postpartal treatment concept including gastrostomy placement via a microincision to minimize adhesions is essential. The open surgical approach should be considered in cases of previous extensive surgical attempts of EA correction causing severe adhesions as well as associated anomalies or genetic syndromes causing hemodynamic instability.