Abdominal incisional hernia occurring after an esophagectomy reconstructedwith a gastric tube through an antesternal route: Report of a case

A Japanese man, who had undergone a subtotal esophagectomy reconstructed wi th a gastric tube through an antesternal route for esophageal carcinoma 16 years previously, was admitted to our hospital because of an abdominal inci sional hernia. The abdominal incisional hernia was in his upper abdomen and was difficult to push back into the intraabdominal cavity by hand. The her nia was successfully repaired by operation. We thus conclude that an abdomi nal incisional hernia is a rare but important late-phase complication occur ring after an esophagectomy reconstructed nifh either an antesternal or ret rosternal route, and an operation should be the treatment of choice.