[Usefulness of the early study of intrathoracic digestive anastomoses]

The appearance of a dehiscence after an operation of oesophageal resection and reconstruction with stomach, jejunum or colon, constitutes a highly serious event frequently leading to the patient's death. Early recognition of dehiscence is therefore important for the purpose of starting adequate therapy as quickly as possible and preventing the rise and establishment of those lesions which condition an irreversible trend of the clinical condition. In this note the means today available for early diagnosis fo fistula, with particular reference to early radiological examination, are discussed. Early diagnosis and adequate prompt treatment may, in our opinion, lead to an improvement in the poor results reported by a number of surgical schools.