REFLUX ESOPHAGITIS AFTER RESECTION OF ESOPHAGEAI CANCER

Esophagitis following resection of esophageal cancer is a quite common problem.It is mainly due to destruction of the anti-reflux barrier between the esophagus and the stomach and gastroesophageal reflux. Failure of esophageal clearance ofrefluxed material is the other one of the causes. In this study, 30 patients withesophageal carcinoma resected about one year were examined endoscopically. Theresults showed that reflux is more easily to occur during the patients lay on rightside than left. Histopathologic findings indicated that esophageal inflammation ofvarious degrees existed in all subjects. Sleeping with the head elevated is an effec-tive preventive method in therapy. The authors proposed the histopathologic gradecriterion of esophagitis.