Abstract
Background
Symptomatic rectal stump leakage (RSL) is a serious complication after discontinuity resection and requires immediate surgical, interventional, or endoscopic therapy. Re-operations are associated with high morbidity and mortality in these mostly very ill patients. Endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) has been established for management of anastomotic leakage; however, its effectiveness for RSL treatment has not been analyzed in detail yet.
Methods
A retrospective analysis of patients treated with EVT for RSL between 2001 and 2018 analyzing factors predicting therapy success and duration was carried out.
Results
Fifty-six patients with RSL at a median age of 66 years were included. Of these, 18 patients (32%) had been referred for EVT from external departments or institutions. RSL was associated with a relevant clinical deterioration in all patients, and 55 patients (98%) had been classified as ASA 3 and 4, preoperatively. In 9 patients (16%), additional surgical revision was necessary with initiation of EVT. In 47 patients (84%), EVT was successful and local control of the inflammatory focus was achieved. The median duration of therapy was 20 days. Two patients (4%) suffered from minor EVT-associated bleeding that was endoscopically controlled. Preoperative radiation of the pelvis was significantly associated with EVT failure (P = 0.035), whereas patient age represented a predictive factor for therapy length (P = 0.039). In 12 patients (21%), restoration of intestinal continuity was achieved in the further course.
Conclusions
We present the first specific series on EVT for RSL. EVT for RSL was shown to be an effective and safe minimal-invasive treatment option, avoiding surgical revision in the majority of patients.
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Acknowledgements
The authors sincerely thank Rolf Weidenhagen, MD, Fritz Spelsberg, MD, Klaus Uwe Grützner, MD, and Christian Schneider, MD, for their outstanding preliminary work (technical development, clinical establishment, and scientific work) in the field of endoscopic vacuum therapy at our department and thank Hans-Martin Hornung, MD, for his dedicated IT and data administration.
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No funding was received for the present study.
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There are no financial or personal conflicts of any of the authors. Drs. Florian Kühn, Julia Zimmermann, Nicola Beger, Ulrich Wirth, Sandro M. Hasenhütl, Moritz Drefs, Chen Chen, Maria Burian, W. Konrad Karcz, Markus Rentsch, Jens Werner, and Tobias S. Schiergens have no conflicts of interest or financial ties to disclose.
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Kühn, F., Zimmermann, J., Beger, N. et al. Endoscopic vacuum therapy for treatment of rectal stump leakage. Surg Endosc 35, 1749–1754 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-020-07569-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-020-07569-6