Home self-dilatation for esophageal strictures

Esophageal strictures secondary to caustic ingestion, head and neck radiation and at the anastomosis post-esophagectomy tend to be refractory to one or several dilatations. One option for these strictures is home self-dilatation. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of home self-dilatation for a refractory esophageal stricture. A retrospective chart review was performed of all patients from 1997 to 2009 that performed home self-dilatation for an esophageal stricture. Patients with proximal strictures without tortuosity or a shelf proximal to the stricture were selected for self-dilatation. The patients were taught self-dilatation by the surgeon and an experienced nurse, and an appropriate sized Maloney dilator was provided to the patient and returned when no longer needed. There were 16 patients (11 male and 5 female) with a median age of 60 years (range 38-78). The stricture was related to the anastomosis after esophagectomy in 12 patients, caustic injury in 3 patients and cervical chemoradiotherapy in 1 patient. Prior to initiation of self-dilatation patients had a median of four endoscopic dilatations. Self-dilatation was done with a Maloney dilator ranging in size from 45 to 60 French. The median duration of self-dilatation was 16 weeks. No patient had a perforation or complication related to self-dilatation. No patient required stenting or repetitive endoscopic dilatations because of failure of self-dilatation. Strictures recurred in two patients after cessation of self-dilatation and both responded to endoscopic dilatation followed by additional self-dilatation. Self-dilatation effectively resolves refractory esophageal strictures. It was well tolerated, and there were no complications in this series. Home self-dilatation should be considered the treatment of choice in appropriate patients with refractory esophageal strictures in the cervical esophagus.