Hybrid laparo-endoscopic access: New approach to surgical treatment for giant fibrovascular polyp of esophagus: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND

Fibrovascular polyps are rare type of esophageal submucosal neoplasms. They are highly vascularized and can cause difficulty swallowing and even fatal complications such as uncontrolled bleeding and death caused by asphyxiation in case of tumor migration to oropharynx. In the article we describe a novel hybrid technique to surgical treatment – an endoscopic submucosal dissection with laparoscopic removal of the tumor.

CASE SUMMARY

The patient with a giant fibrovascular esophageal polyp presented with cough, discomfort in the throat, difficulty swallowing, and an episode of tumor migration into oropharynx. The patient was investigated with several imaging studies and was diagnosed with a giant highly vascularized esophageal fibrovascular polyp. The follow-up period of eight months accompanied with no complications.

CONCLUSION

This method has been shown to have comparable rates of recurrence and a low risk of complications.

[Leiomyoma of the esophagus : A further indication for robotic surgery?]

BACKGROUND

Leiomyomas of the esophagus are rare tumors but the most common benign lesion of the esophagus originating from smooth muscle cells. The symptoms are mainly determined by the size of the tumor and are caused by dysphagia and/or retrosternal pain. The majority of patients are however asymptomatic. The diagnostics include esophagoscopy, endosonography and chest computed tomography. Surgery is considered the treatment of choice and ideally involves enucleation of the tumor but may lead to esophagectomy. In addition to the classical open procedures, minimally invasive procedures are also used. Regardless of the selected procedure, a lesion of the mucosa should be avoided.

OBJECTIVE

A review of the literature on thoracoscopic and robotic resections in the treatment of leiomyomas was carried out and an illustration of a clinical case is presented.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A review of minimally invasive surgical treatment of esophageal leiomyomas is presented. The literature search was carried out in PubMed for publications of thoracoscopic and robotic-assisted thoracic enucleation of leiomyomas of the esophagus. In addition, the robotic-assisted thoracic enucleation of a horseshoe-shaped leiomyoma in the middle third of the esophagus is described.

RESULTS

The enucleation of the esophageal leiomyoma was carried out through a right-sided robotic-assisted operation with one lung ventilation. The surgery time was 143 min. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications. On the 3rd postoperative day a light diet was started and the thorax drainage was removed. Histopathology confirmed a leiomyoma. The patient was discharged on the 5th postoperative day and free of complaints.

CONCLUSION

Robotic-assisted surgery for leiomyomas of the esophagus is a safe procedure. Taking the available data into account, robotic-assisted thoracic enucleation of leiomyomas was characterized by less mucosal lesions, general complications and a lower conversion rate as well as a shorter hospital stay compared to classical thoracoscopic enucleation. Thus, robotic-assisted surgery can be the method of choice for leiomyomas of the esophagus.

Surgical treatment of esophageal leiomyoma larger than 5 cm in diameter: A case report and review of the literature

Although leiomyoma is the most common benign esophageal neoplasm, it is a rare condition. Resection of the tumor is recommended in symptomatic patients, and observation is recommended in asymptomatic patients with small lesions. We discussed here a patient admitted to our hospital for dyspepsia in whom a calcified mediastinal neoplasm was diagnosised preoperatively and esophageal leiomyoma was diagnosised postoperatively. Enucleation of a leiomyoma of the esophagus is recommended and the optimal approaches should be tailored based on the location and size of the tumor.