A New Esophagogastric Anastomosis for McKeown Esophagectomy in Esophageal Cancer

For McKeown esophagectomy, hand-sewn and mechanical esophagogastric anastomosis techniques have been improved for constructing esophagogastrostomy. However, postoperative anastomosis-related complication rates remain high in patients undergoing cervical anastomosis. Here, we report an original and reliable hand-sewn cervical tunnel esophagogastric anastomosis technique to maximally reduce cervical anastomotic leakage and stricture rates after McKeown esophagectomy. The key features and innovations of cervical tunnel esophagogastric anastomosis are the right gastroepiploic artery as the center for the esophagogastric anastomosis to reduce ischemia, sufficient width of the anastomotic site for anastomosis without stricture, enfolding of the anastomotic site by the tunnel, and tension- and rotation-free anastomosis.