Nghe An General Friendship Hospital: Plastic Rigiflex balloon endoscopy to treat postoperative anastomotic stenosis for patients

Recently, Nghe An General Hospital received 2 patients with esophageal-jejunostomy stricture after surgery. They were patient SVC (58 years old, in Quy Chau district) diagnosed with anastomotic stricture/stomach cancer that had been operated on/stage IB and patient LTT (70 years old, in Vinh city) diagnosed with anastomotic stricture/stomach cancer that had been operated on.

The two patients were treated by multidisciplinary doctors using the Plastic Rigiflex balloon endoscopy technique. The doctors involved in the procedure included: Dr. Dinh Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Training and Guidance Center; Specialist 2 Doctor Tran Xuan Hung - Head of the Department of Gastroenterology; Master, Doctor of the Department of Functional Exploration Tang Dinh Quang.

12 hours after the endoscopic anastomosis dilation, the patient was fed porridge and liquid soup; after 24 hours, the patient was able to eat thick porridge... Treatment results showed that both patients had completely healed and were eating and drinking normally again.

“For the past 3 months, I have been treated at many different medical facilities but it has not improved. I still have difficulty swallowing and eating, causing physical and mental fatigue. This time, I was very lucky to meet the doctors at Nghe An General Hospital so I can have a delicious meal like this” – A patient expressed after being treated.

According to Dr. Dinh Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Training and Guidance Center: “Anastomotic stenosis after gastrointestinal surgery is a rare complication. According to studies worldwide, the rate of anastomotic stenosis is from 0.9% - 9% for circular staplers; 4.6% - 6% for linear staplers and more than 10% for traditional sutures. Studies also note that the rate of anastomotic stenosis in particular and complications in general also depend on the skills, experience and qualifications of the surgeon.

However, this is also a rare complication with a low rate, so there are few studies on treatment methods when there is a complication of anastomotic stenosis. Therefore, when a patient has anastomotic stenosis, it is very confusing to find a treatment direction, so many patients have to go from one hospital to another for treatment but all have no results.

There are many methods for treating anastomotic stenosis. Each method is applied to each patient, each location of the digestive tract. Treatment principles apply from the lightest, least invasive intervention to re-surgical intervention.

However, for patients with poor health after surgery, re-intervention is extremely difficult and risky. Not all digestive tract locations can be re-intervened... Therefore, patients need to go to a medical facility with highly specialized and experienced doctors to be able to choose the most optimal method for the patient.

Specialist 2 Dr. Tran Xuan Hung - Head of the Department of Gastroenterology added: “Plastic Rigiflex balloon dilation endoscopy is a minimally invasive method, helping to minimize the risk of injury and recovery time for patients. The success rate of this procedure is relatively high, helping to significantly improve the patient's stenosis and digestive function. Thanks to the application of effective anesthesia or sedation techniques, patients often feel little or no pain during the procedure.”

The success in treating anastomotic stenosis complications by doctors at Nghe An General Hospital shows that the hospital not only cares about techniques and treatment methods, but also focuses on the depth of the treatment regimen to treat patients with complications, meeting all treatment needs of people in the province and the region.