SAFETY OF EARLY ORAL FEEDING AFTER TRANSHIATAL ESOPHAGECTOMY : PRELIMINARY REPORT OF A PROSPECTIVE TRIAL

Abstract

Oral feeding is the best means of nutrition in surgical patients. There arc many reports on early oral feeding after lower gastrointestinal {(il) operations but data regarding upper Gl procedures is rather scant. This limited study rocuses 011 early removal of nasogastric tube and start of oral diet after transhiatal csophagcctomy. We prospectively evaluated 13 consecutive patients (8 males. 5 females) with esophageal cancer who had undergone rranshiatal csophngcctomy from March 100 I to September :lOrn. Nasogustric tube was removed on post-op day 1 and clear liquids started on day 3. Diet was advanced to son regular in tile next 5 days if the patients tolerated it. Mean age of patients was 63 years.
Menu body weight and serum albumin level were 57.9 kg and 3.73 gr/dl., respectively. Tumor pathology was squamous cell carcinoma in 11 cases and adenocarcinoma in I. Location oftumor was at the lower third of the esophagus in 11 cases and middle third in one. All patients ill the study group tolerated tile protocol well. Only one patient had nausea after oral intake, without vomiting. We had one neck wound infection and OIlC pulmonary infection. There was no anastomotic leakage or fistula. A group of I() esophageal cancer patients undergoing trnnshiuta! csophagcctomy in the same period ""'('I'C used as the control group. One anastomotic leakage occurred in control group. We had no significant complication. Early nasogastric tube removal and oral feeding seems to be safe in patients with esophageal cancer undergoing transhiatal csophagcctcmy.