Surgeons rebuild patient’s oesophagus in seven-hour operation

Surgeons at Eastern Hospital in Latvia have created a new oesophagus from a patient’s stomach tissue, restoring his ability to eat, LSM reported. The operation lasted seven hours and was described as unique in Latvia.

The man had long suffered from chronic inflammation of the oesophagus, which led to repeated cases of pneumonia as food and saliva entered his airways. Eventually, his oesophagus became completely blocked. Doctors had placed a gastrostomy, an opening to deliver food directly into his stomach.

Surgeons first closed the gastrostomy and restored the stomach’s normal anatomy. They then removed the irreversibly damaged section of the oesophagus and used stomach tissue to create a replacement.

Igor Ivanov, head of the hospital’s General and Emergency Surgery Clinic, said the case was difficult because of dense adhesions and hardened tissue around the oesophagus. The patient also prepared for the operation by quitting smoking and losing weight.

Ivanov said similar procedures are performed for cancer patients, but this operation was for a patient with a narrowing of the oesophagus. The man was discharged on the eighth day after surgery and has returned to eating normally and his usual daily life.