|
Vagal Sparing Esophagectomy
A relatively new procedure offered by surgeons in the Thoracic/Foregut group for some patients with Barrett's esophagus and high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma is what is called a vagal sparing esophagectomy. In this procedure the entire diseased esophag is removed, and is replaced with a segment of the patient's own colon.
The advantage of this operation over all other types of esophagectomy is that the vagus nerves that control the function of the stomach and intestines are preserved. Since the vagal innervation of the stomach is preserved, the entire stomach is left in place.
A colon graft connects the residual esophagus in the neck to the innervated stomach in the abdomen. The procedure is very well tolerated since there is no dissection within the chest. Instead, the esophagus is stripped out of the mediastinum, or chest, with a special technique utilizing a vein-stripping tool. Furthermore, the ability of patients to eat after this procedure is outstanding. Given that patients maintain their entire stomach they have excellent reservoir capacity for food, and with intact vagal innervation of the stomach and intestines patients have few or none of the side effects that can be associated with a traditional esophagectomy such as dumping syndrome or post-vagotomy diarrhea. Currently, this procedure is only offered at the University of Southern California.
For more information about this procedure contact us at chestsurgery@surgery.usc.edu.
« Back to Clinical Activities
|
«
Back to Departments
