Close
Open
Share on Facebook
Twitter
Google+
Email
 
Notice: Users may be experiencing issues with displaying some pages on stanfordhealthcare.org. We are working closely with our technical teams to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
 

COVID-19 Updates:      COVID-19 Resources »      Vaccine Update »      Updated Visitor Policy »      What We're Doing to Keep You Safe »

Menu
Search
Menu
Search
  • Doctors, Clinics & Locations, Conditions & Treatments
  • Patients & Visitors
  • MyHealth
  • Billing
  • Insurance
  • Medical Records
  • Support Groups
  • Financial Assistance
  • COVID-19 Resource Center
  • Locations and Parking
  • Visitor Policy
  • Hospital Check-in
  • International Patients
  • Contact Us
View All Information for Patients & Visitors »
We are available to assist you 24/7.
650-498-3333
GuestServices@stanfordhealthcare.org


View the changes to our visitor policy »

 

View information for Guest Services »

New to MyHealth?

Manage Your Care From Anywhere.

Access your health information from any device with MyHealth.  You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill.

ALREADY HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?

Activate Account

DON'T HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?

Create a New Account

NEED MORE DETAILS?

Learn More about MyHealth »

MyHealth for Mobile

Get the iPhone MyHealth app »
Get the Android MyHealth app »

WELCOME BACK

Forgot Username or Password?
Need Help?

Clear

Community Physician Hub: Welcome to Access Newsletter

  • About
  • About

Esophageal Reconstruction

Transplanted small intestine becomes substitute for lost esophagus

Most people take eating, drinking and swallowing for granted. But when that ability is taken away, because of cancer or surgery, the results are devastating. Patients who lose all or part of their esophagus must rely on a feeding tube implanted into the abdomen for nourishment, which can lead to infection, social isolation and undernourishment.

Many of these patients are candidates for esophageal reconstruction, which uses tissue from one part of the body to replace the absent esophagus, thereby repairing the conduit from the throat to the stomach and giving patients the ability to eat and swallow again. Historically, gastric pull up and colonic interposition have served as the primary reconstructive choices in the face of major esophageal defects. But some patients are not candidates for these procedures, and others suffer post-surgical complications such as loss of blood supply to the transplanted tissue and leakage due to poor connections.

But a collaborative Stanford team with a long track record of successful esophageal transplant is using an unlikely approach, the small intestine, over more commonly used procedures.

"We use the small intestine, which is a much better size match, and we use microsurgery to augment the blood supply," says Gordon Lee, MD, director of microsurgery in the division of plastic and reconstructive surgery. And with that approach, Stanford has been getting excellent results. "All of our patients initially came to us unable to eat, drink or even swallow sometimes for months, even years, as a result of cancer or surgery," Lee says. "And all of the patients we've done have resumed a normal, regular diet and are maintaining their weight."

For new patient referrals contact: plasticnewpatient@stanfordmed.org or 650-723-7001

read next

  • Cover Story: Transoral Robots
  • Advances in Microwave Systems
  • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
  • Service Highlight: Transplant Outreach Clinics

SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS eNEWSETTER

Sign Up
  • Find a Doctor
  • Find Conditions & Treatments
  • Find a Stanford clinic
  • For Patients & Visitors
  • Billing
  • Insurance
  • Hospital Check-in
  • Contact Us
  • Get a Second Opinion
  • COVID-19 Resource Center
  • Make a Gift
  • About Us
  • Quality & Safety
  • Annual Report
  • Stanford Health Care Now
  • For Healthcare Professionals
  • Referring Physicians
  • Nursing
  • Allied Healthcare Professionals
First Responders
  • Newsroom
  • Careers
  • Volunteering
  • Vendors
  • University HealthCare Alliance
  • Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare
  • Stanford Medicine
  • Stanford Children's Health
  • Stanford University
  • Legal
  • Privacy
  • Code of Conduct
  • |   Notice of Nondiscrimination     ©2020 Stanford Health Care. All Rights Reserved
Home
Close
Doctors
Clinics & Locations
Conditions & Treatments
Clinical Trials
MyHealth Login

Patients & Visitors
Billing
Insurance
Financial Assistance
Medical Records
Contact Us
Get a Second Opinion
COVID-19 Resource Center
Healthcare Professionals
Referring Physicians
Nursing
Allied Healthcare
About Us
Quality & Safety
Careers
Newsroom
Make a Donation
Stanford Health Care Now
Close