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Updated: Oct 25, 2025

An Ivor Lewis Esophagectomy Designed to Minimize Anastomotic Complications and Optimize Conduit Function
Published on: April 17, 2020
New therapies for esophageal strictures in children
Giulia Angelino1, Renato Tambucci, Filippo Torroni
1Digestive Endoscopy and Surgery Unit, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital - Scientific Institute for Research and Healthcare, Rome, Italy.
Insights
This review covers new treatments for benign esophageal strictures in children, focusing on dilation techniques and new therapies for difficult cases. Research continues for safer, less invasive options in pediatric esophageal stricture management.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Gastrointestinal Surgery
Background:
- Benign esophageal strictures are a significant concern in pediatric care.
- Esophageal dilation remains the primary treatment modality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advancements in therapeutic strategies for pediatric benign esophageal strictures.
- To discuss current knowledge on esophageal dilations and explore new adjuvant treatments.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature on esophageal dilations (balloon and bougie).
- Examination of evidence for adjuvant therapies: endoscopic incisional therapy, stenting, mitomycin C, and steroids.
Main Results:
- Evidence for superiority of specific dilation techniques is insufficient; ongoing studies aim to clarify this.
- Recurrent and refractory strictures pose challenges; current adjuvant therapies lack widespread feasibility, efficacy, and safety.
Conclusions:
- Recent years show encouraging results in managing pediatric esophageal strictures.
- Further research is necessary for secure, reproducible, and minimally invasive treatment options.
Purpose Of Review:
The present review aims at describing recent advances in therapeutic strategies for the treatment of benign esophageal strictures in children. We discuss current knowledge and practice on esophageal dilations, which are still the mainstream of treatment. We present new evidence about adjuvant treatments for recurrent and refractory strictures, including endoscopic incisional therapy, esophageal stenting, intralesional or topical mytomicin C and intralesional, systemic or topical steroids.
Recent Findings:
Current evidence on esophageal dilations is not sufficient to establish superiority of one of the available techniques, especially the use of balloon or bougie dilators, but a prospective international cohort study on anastomotic stricture in esophageal atresia is underway to address this issue. Recurrent and refractory strictures still represent a challenge, since none of the adjuvant pharmacological and mechanical interventions has shown to be enough feasible, effective and safe to revolutionize clinical practice.
Summary:
In the last couple of years, several encouraging results have been published on management of esophageal strictures in children. Further research is needed, hopefully directed toward secure, easily reproducible and minimally invasive measures.
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