PS01.242: HIATAL HERNIA AFTER MINIMALLY INVASIVE ESOPHAGECTOMY. (14th September 2018) - Mungo, Benedetto
Abstract: Background: Hiatal hernias (HH) are a known, yet poorly studied, post-surgical complication of esophagectomy. The aim of this study was to analyze in a retrospective fashion the MIE experience at our institution, in order to individuate factors associated with post-surgical HH development. Methods: We reviewed data from MIE performed at University of Colorado from July 2013 to July 2017. Our most common approach of choice is Ivor Lewis MIE with circular stapled end to side anastomosis. We divided our patient population in two groups: those who developed a HH at any time post operatively and those who did not. We compared pre-, intra- and post-operative clinical variables of interest in the two groups using Pearson chi-squared and Fisher's exact test for binomial variables and Two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test for continuous variables. Results: 91 patients underwent MIE in the study period: 11 developed HH in a time frame ranging from one week to two years post operatively. 8 patients had a HH involving one or more intra-abdominal organs other than the stomach; 3 patients had a HH interesting mostly the tubulized stomach. 7 patients required a reoperation. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of pre-operative comorbidities between the two groups. Patient who developed a HH were significantly less likely to have had prior abdominal or thoracic surgery (Pr = 0.039). As expected, they were also significantly more likely to require a reoperation (Pr = 0.000). There were no statistically significant differences in intra-operative variables between the two groups, including operative time and anastomotic technique, nor where there differences in incidence of post operative complications other than HH. We did observe a trend towards higher rate of preoperative chemotherapy and radiation in the HH group. Of note, we did attempt to prevent HH by means of tacking abdominal organs to the abdominal wall, however this did not prove to significantly decrease HH incidence. Conclusion: HH occurs in a non-negligible percentage of patients undergoing MIE. Lack of prior surgery appears to be significantly associated with HH, perhaps due to lesser adhesion burden acting as a mean of organ fixation. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.