The Difficult Esophageal Conduit

A variety of esophageal diseases are treated with esophagectomy, from benign to esophageal cancer. Careful attention must be given to management of the difficult conduit, including patients who have had prior gastric surgery and other procedures, patients with conditions such as diabetic gastroparesis, which can affect the stomach as a future usable conduit, and patients who have an absent or unusable stomach. In these situations, consideration should be raised for the use of alternative conduits, including jejunal and colonic interposition conduits. The esophageal surgeon should also be adept at management of intraoperative difficulties with the conduit.