[Removal of the small intestine in autologous jejunum transplantation for reconstruction of the mouth cavity is a secondary intervention with few complications].

Abstract

Reconstruction after radical tumor resection in the oropharyngeal region still represents an interdisciplinary challenge. Autotransplantation of the jejunum is a popular procedure, in which the abdominal surgeon's main task is that of harvesting enteral tissue. To evaluate this technique, a careful analysis of accompanying perioperative abdominal complications was performed. Additionally, we reexamined 35 of 66 patients still living after a follow-up period of 21 (range 2-63) months on average. The perioperative mortality of 90 patients treated for oropharyngeal malignancy using the described procedure was 7.8%. None of the perioperative deaths was caused by an abdominal complication associated with enteral resection. One abdominal reoperation was performed because of abdominal wall dehiscence. For reasons not related to enteral resection, four further patients had to be relaparotomized, two of them during their hospital stay and two after leaving hospital. In five cases we observed minor complications which could be treated nonsurgically. In the follow-up reexamination we detected no abdominal late-onset complication except small incisional hernias in six cases. Finally, we concluded that despite an elevated overall operative risk in this population, complications owing to jejunal resection were comparably low. The data regarding the rate of complications classify jejunal resection as a safe procedure for reconstructive purposes in patients suffering from oropharyngeal malignancy.