One cause of anastomotic leakage after radical esophagectomy is blood flow insufficiency at the cervical anastomosis site. .~Eighteen patients, who underwent radical esophagectomy with gastric tube reconstruction, were studied. The regional tissue oxygen saturation (rSO2) was measured at the tip (point pre 0) and 2, 4, and 6 cm on the anal side of the tip (point pre 1, pre 2, and pre 3, respectively) before the gastric tube was raised to the cervical site through the retrosternal route. After that, rSO2 was measured at the tip, 2 and 4 cm on the anal side of the tip (points post 0, post 1, and post 2), the actual anastomotic site (point AN), and the chest skin as an indicator of whole-body oxygenation . The relationship between rSO2 scores and the rate of anastomotic leakage was determined.
Tissue oxygen saturation monitoring was a useful indicator of blood flow insufficiency in the gastric tube leading to anastomotic leakage during radical esophagectomy.