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World J Gastroenterol. Aug 28, 2026; 32(32): 119202
Published online Aug 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.119202
Published online Aug 28, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.119202
Management of anastomotic leakage in upper gastrointestinal tract after oncologic surgery: Role of fully covered metallic stents
Margarida Saraiva, Daniel Conceição, Luís Correia Gomes, Joana Lemos Garcia, Pedro Currais, Carolina Simões, Joana Moleiro, Pedro Lage, Isadora Rosa, Department of Gastroenterology, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, Lisbon 1099-023, Portugal
Paulo Ramos, Cecília Monteiro, Rui Casaca, Department of General Surgery, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, Lisbon 1099-023, Portugal
Co-corresponding authors: Margarida Saraiva and Isadora Rosa.
Author contributions: Saraiva M and Rosa I contributed equally to this study as co-corresponding authors; Saraiva M, Conceição D, and Rosa I were responsible for conceptualization; Saraiva M, Conceição D, Garcia JL, Simões C, Currais P, and Moleiro J were responsible for data acquisition; Saraiva M, Lage P, Monteiro C, Ramos P, and Casaca R were responsible for data analysis and interpretation; Saraiva M and Conceição D were responsible for original draft preparation; Gomes LC and Rosa I were responsible for review and editing.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil (Approval No. UIC/1781).
Informed consent statement: Patient consent was not required for this study due to its retrospective, observational nature.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Margarida Saraiva, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, Rua Prof. Lima Basto, Lisbon 1099-023, Portugal. asaraiva@ipolisboa.min-saude.pt
Received: January 21, 2026
Revised: February 22, 2026
Accepted: June 4, 2026
Published online: August 28, 2026
Processing time: 192 Days and 23.3 Hours
Revised: February 22, 2026
Accepted: June 4, 2026
Published online: August 28, 2026
Processing time: 192 Days and 23.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Anastomotic leakage following upper gastrointestinal oncologic surgery is a life-threatening condition, for which optimal treatment is still not standardized. Fully covered self-expandable metallic stents are a validated endoscopic option with which our center has long-term experience. We retrospectively reviewed all patients treated with this modality (n = 70), from 2013 to 2023, and our findings demonstrate its effectiveness in the management of anastomotic leaks in oncological patients.