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Endoscopic treatment of postradiation strictures
P Spinelli1, F Milani, F G Cerrai
1Divisione di Diagnostica e Chirurgia Endoscopica, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milano, Italy.
Background:
Esophageal stricture is a rare complication of radiotherapy: reports on its incidence and management are therefore anecdotal.
Methods:
From January 1978 to September 1992, 44 patients presenting with an esophageal stricture related to a previous radiation treatment were endoscopically dilated at the Endoscopy Division of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori of Milan.
Results:
Esophageal recanalization was obtained in 95% of the patients treated, and in 79% of these normal eating habits were restored. No strict correlation was observed between radiation dose and severity of the stricture, or time elapsed between first treatment and endoscopic dilation.
Conclusions:
In our experience, endoscopic dilation was a safe effective procedure and represented an effective palliative tool in dysphagic patients with esophageal strictures due to previous local radiotherapy.