Reconstruction of the Entire Esophagus with “Chain Flaps” in a Patient with Severe Corrosive Injury

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The esophagus can usually be reconstructed with stomach, colon, or jejunum.1–5 However, a unique problem was encountered in a patient for whom none of the intraabdominal organs could he mobilized lor reconstruction. A patient sustained a severe corrosive injury of the upper alimentary tract complicated by perforation of the stomach, peritonitis, and abdominal wall disruption. Total esophagectomy and total gastrectomy were done as an emergency procedure. The patient finally survived after the grafting of a split-thickness skin graft directly on the exposed intestine and colon for simple coverage of the wound and a feeding jejunostomy. The adhesion between the grafted skin and the underlying gastrointestinal tract was so firm that it was impossible to use any of the intraabdominal organs for esophageal replacement. A “chain” of free radial forearm flaps between the pharynx and jejunum was employed to restore the orointestinal continuity with satisfactory result.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: