Emergency subtotal oesophagectomy

From 1981 to 1987 nine patients have undergone resection and reconstruction of the oesophagus as an emergency, using a two-part left-sided approach with oesophagogastric anastomosis in the neck. Five patients had oesophageal perforation with a carcinoma; one had spontaneous perforation of an intrathoracic stomach; two had severe haemorrhage; and one had acute sterile mediastinitis. Following operation there was one postoperative death (11 per cent) and no major complications. Long-term survival was marred only by the development of further malignancy in four patients. Subtotal oesophagectomy has both theoretical and practical advantages over conventional oesophagogastrectomy in oesophageal emergencies and we suggest that it should be considered as the method of choice in the management of these difficult cases.