Postoperative recovery after suspension suture placement at the site of esophagojejunal anastomosis after total gastrectomy: Comparison of two surgical techniques.

Background: Despite improvements, survival rates for gastric cancer remain low, even in developed countries, confirming the role of primary and secondary prevention.

Objective: This study aims to demonstrate the role of additional suspension sutures on the esophagojejunal anastomosis (EJA) to strengthen the anastomosis, i.e., relieve the mechanical suture.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted from 2011 to 2022 at the Clinic for Surgery, University Clinical Center Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The experimental group consisted of patients placed with a suspension suture at the esophagojejunal anastomosis (EJA) site after total gastrectomy. The control group was patients without a suspension suture. The clinical and laboratory parameters available from the medical history were analyzed, X-ray passage, surgical complications, non-surgical complications, the length of hospitalization, the postoperative course, time of onset of postoperative complications, postoperative radiological follow-up and endoscopic postoperative follow-up were then analyzed.

Results: A total of 212 patients were included in the study: 87 in the experimental group with suspension sutures on the EJA and 125 in the control group without suspension sutures on the EJA. The two cohorts did not differ in other clinicopathologic parameters except perineural invasion, which was more prevalent in the control group. Patients in both groups were anemic and elevated values of C reactive protein (CRP) and decreased levels of proteins, albumin and globulin, with no significant difference between the two groups. The most common general complication was pleural effusion (28%), followed by pneumonia (∼22%). The most common complication in the experimental group was an intraabdominal abscess, while in the control group, it was a surgical wound infection.

Conclusion: Our study did not show a statistically significant difference between the two analyzed EJA techniques created with a circular stapler, when it comes to postoperative course and outcome in patients with gastric cancer.