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Purpose: The treatment of anastomotic leakage after left colorectal surgery remains challenging. Since its introduction, endoscopic negative pressure therapy (ENPT) has proven to be advantageous, reducing the necessity of surgical revision. The aim of our study is to present our experience with endoscopic treatment of colorectal leakages and to identify potential factors influencing treatment outcome. Methods: Patients who underwent endoscopic treatment of colorectal leakage were retrospectively analyzed. Primary endpoint was the healing rate and success of endoscopic therapy. Results: We identified 59 patients treated with ENPT between January 2009 and December 2019. The overall closure rate was 83%, whereas only 60% of the patients were successfully treated with ENPT and 23% needed further surgery. The time between diagnosis of leakage and uptake of endoscopic treatment did not influence the closure rate, but patients with chronic fistula (> 4 weeks) showed a significantly higher reoperation rate than those with an acute fistula (94% vs 6%, p = 0.01). Conclusion: ENPT is a successful treatment option for colorectal leakages, which appears to be more favorable when started early. Further studies are still needed to better describe its healing potential, but it deserves an integral role in the interdisciplinary treatment of anastomotic leakages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After gastrointestinal resections, leakages can occur, persist despite conventional therapy and result in enterocutaneous fistulae. We developed a combination method using flexible endoscopic techniques to seal the enteric orifice with an absorbable plug in addition to a percutaneously and fistuloscopically guided open-pore film drainage (Vac-Plug method). We retrospectively searched our endoscopy database to identify patients treated with the outlined technique. The clinical and pathological data were assessed, the method analyzed and characterized and the technical and clinical success determined. We identified 14 patients that were treated with the Vac-Plug method (4 females, 10 males with a mean age of 56 years, range 50–74). The patients were treated over a time period of 23 days (range 4–119) in between one to thirteen interventions (mean n = 5). One patient had to be excluded due to short follow-up after successful closure. Seventy-seven percent (10/13) were successfully treated with a median follow-up of 453 days (range 35–1246) thereafter. No treatment related complications occurred during the therapy. The data of the analysis showed that the Vac-Plug therapy is safe and successful in a relevant proportion of the patients. It is easy to learn and to apply and is well tolerated. In our opinion, it is a promising addition to the armamentarium of interventional methods of these difficult to treat patients. Of course, its usefulness must be further validated in larger prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Anastomotic or stump leakage is a common and serious complication of colorectal surgery. The objective of this study was to retrospectively investigate the clinical use and potential benefit of transanal rinsing treatment (TRT) using an innovative rinsing catheter (RC) after treatment with endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT). Methods: Patients with leakage after low colorectal surgery who had been treated with EVT were retrospectively analyzed. A subset of patients was trained to perform TRT with a specially developed RC. We investigated the rate of complete healing of the leakage, septic complications, failure of the therapy, surgical revisions, ostomy closure rate, and complications related to endoscopic therapy. Results: Between February 2007 and January 2014, 98 patients with local complications after low colorectal surgery, treated with EVT, were identified. Eighty-nine patients were analyzed (the treatment of nine patients was stopped due to medical or technical problems): 31 patients were treated with EVT only (EVT group) and 58 patients with EVT followed by TRT (EVT/TRT group). Complete healing of the leakage was significantly better in the EVT/TRT group [84% vs. 58% (p < 0.009)], and significantly fewer septic complications needing surgical revision were detected [3% vs. 11% (p = 0.001)]. No significant differences regarding endoscopy-related complications and ostomy closure were found between EVT and EVT/TRT patients. Conclusions: The use of patient-administered TRT with an innovative, customized RC after EVT is technically feasible and reliable and significantly improves therapeutic results. Further prospective trials with larger patient groups are needed to validate the results of our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]