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Updated: May 7, 2026

Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy for the Treatment of Anastomotic Leakage after Total Gastrectomy with Esophagojejunostomy
Published on: August 22, 2025
[Empyema from spontaneous esophageal rupture treated by thoracoscopic surgery]
Ken-ichi Tomiyama1, Takahisa Yamamoto
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Saiseikai Hyogoken Hospital, Kobe, Japan.
Abstract:
A 61-year-old man who had been admitted for vomiting and abdominal pain 5 days before at another hospital was transferred to our hospital. He was diagnosed as pyo-pneumothorax, and chest drainage was initiated. Seven days after admission, food residue was observed in the drainage tube. A subsequent gastrointestinal fiberscopic examination could not identify the esophageal injury, but the acute empyema caused by spontaneous esophageal rupture was suggested by clinical signs. Thoracoscopic surgery for curettage and irrigation of the pleural cavity was performed. Esophageal rupture could not be confirmed at surgery. Spontaneous closure of the fistula was observed 2 weeks post-surgery.
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