PROTECTIVE SUBPLEURAL BLANKETING OF INTRATHORACIC ESOGASTRIC ANASTOMOSIS AFTER ESOPHAGECTOMY

Esophagectomy followed by intrathoracic anastomosis is threatened by l eakage which may prove all the more serious that mediastinal contamina tion is extensive. In the technique presented, the esogastric anastomo sis is slipped under the upper mediastinal pleura which is kept intact , after the azygos vein has been ligated and divided. This pleural 'bl anket' may act as an efficient barrier against potential digestive spi llage into the mediastinum. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.