Long-term follow-up after esophageal replacement in children: 45-Year single-center experience

We evaluated the results of esophagocoloplasty (ECP) in children by performing a 45-year retrospective cohort study in a single center.

We collected all of the medical charts of patients who underwent ECP at our hospital from January 1969 to January 2014. We reviewed the medical history for each patient and then contacted the patients by phone to obtain responses to a questionnaire. The questionnaire evaluated the following four areas: overall general state, gastrointestinal function, dependence on the Health Sanitary System, and their aesthetic satisfaction.

We contacted 96 patients, and 72 completed our questionnaire. There were 45 males and 27 female respondents, with a mean age of 34.5 years. The mean Karnofsky performance status index was 96.4%. There were excellent scores obtained from 55 patients and fairly good scores from 16 patients. There was 1 patient with a low score, and there were no scores reported below 70%. Most patients (58/72) reported regular bowel habits, and no patients required drugs or other measures to facilitate defecation. Gastroesophageal reflux was present in 51 patients, and 62.8% have bothersome symptoms. Twenty-five patients used pharmacological therapies. Forty-eight patients (66.6%) were satisfied with the aesthetic result of surgery (mean score in a scale from 0 to 5, is 3).

ECP can be used in children who require esophageal substitution. The resulting long-term QoL is acceptable. However, the aesthetic outcomes remain a problem.