Achieving Success with Endoscopic Lumen Restoration for Aphagia

This procedure requires a high level of skill and a dedicated, multidisciplinary team, including an otolaryngologist to conduct the antegrade examination.

Standard endoscopic management of esophageal strictures is sometimes impossible, particularly when a guidewire cannot be positioned via an antegrade approach through the stricture. This situation is perhaps most evident in the proximal esophagus of patients who have received radiation for head and neck cancers. The current study reviews 25 years of experience from two centers in conducting endoscopic lumen restoration (ELR) to help patients regain swallowing function.

This retrospective study reviewed outcomes in 30 consecutive patients referred for total esophageal obstruction (aphagia), mostly caused by chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancers. Under triplane fluoroscopic guidance, antegrade and retrograde endoscopy were performed,…

Reviewing Author

David A. Johnson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory boardMedscape/WebMD; Pfizer; CRH Medical Corporation; Aries

EquityCRH Medical Corporation

Editorial boardsMedscape Gastroenterology

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Gastroenterology Research Institute Board of Directors

David A. Johnson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory boardMedscape/WebMD; Pfizer; CRH Medical Corporation; Aries

EquityCRH Medical Corporation

Editorial boardsMedscape Gastroenterology

Leadership positions in professional societiesAmerican College of Gastroenterology Research Institute Board of Directors