Usefulness of Indocyanine Green Angiography for Evaluation of Blood Supply in a Reconstructed Gastric Tube During Esophagectomy

We report a case of necrosis of a reconstructed gastric tube in a 77-year-old male patient who had undergone esophagectomy. At the time of admission, the patient had active gastric ulcers, but these were resolved by treatment with a proton pump inhibitor. Subtotal esophagectomy with gastric tube reconstruction was performed. Visually, the reconstructed gastric tube appeared to be well perfused with blood. Using indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging the gastroepiploic vessels were well enhanced and no enhancement was visable 3 to 4 cm from the tip of the gastric tube. Four days after esophagectomy, gastric tube necrosis was confirmed, necessitating a second operation. The necrosis of the gastric tube matched the area that had been shown to lack blood perfusion by ICG angiography imaging. It seems that ICG angiography is useful for the evaluation of perfusion in a reconstructed gastric tube.