Transcervical pharyngeal pouch stapling.

BACKGROUND

Pharyngeal pouches are generally treated with surgery, via either an endoscopic or an external approach. Large pouches extending to the mediastinum carry an increased risk of post-operative mediastinitis in the event of a leak following external approach surgery, and may not always be amenable to endoscopic stapling.

METHODS

Transcervical stapling is a newly described technique that uses the endoluminal stapling approach but in which the diverticuloscope is inserted into the pharynx via a neck incision.

CONCLUSIONS

This technique has been used successfully on three patients with large pharyngeal pouches, where endoscopic stapling was not possible due to access limitations.