• Vignesh Raman, Obinna G Ofoche, Daniel J Chentorycki, and Cherie P Erkmen.
• 1 Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA ; 2 Division of Thoracic Surgery, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, USA ; 3 Division of Thoracic Surgery, Temple University Health System, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
• Ann Transl Med. 2015 Dec 1; 3 (21): 327.

BackgroundWe previously used a pig model to demonstrate that noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) may be a safe alternative to endotracheal intubation (ET). We sought to validate our model by quantifying the pressure threshold of esophageal anastomoses in human cadavers as a step before a clinical trial.MethodsWe performed stapled side-to-side, functional end-to-end esophageal anastomoses in 10 cadaveric specimens from autopsy. With intraluminal pressure monitoring, we insufflated the anastomosis with air until a leak was observed, and measured the maximum tolerated pressure.ResultsCadaveric esophageal anastomoses tolerated 101±39 cmH2O (range, 63-140 cmH2O) of pressure before leak was observed. The maximum pressure threshold ranged from 59 to 246 cmH2O. The leak was always at the anastomosis. There was no significant difference in pressure threshold between cadaveric and previously described porcine anastomoses.ConclusionsWe created a human cadaveric model that in conjunction with our porcine data demonstrates that a human esophageal anastomosis can tolerate manifold higher pressures than are delivered to the esophagus by NPPV. This is the final step before a trial of NPPV in patients following esophagectomy.

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