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Management of Anastomotic Leaks—Early <7 Days and Late >7 Days

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Complications in Acute Care Surgery

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Abstract

Anastomotic leaks are among the most dreaded and challenging complications encountered by acute care surgeons, with attendant high morbidity and mortality. A thorough understanding of risk factors leading to anastomotic leaks can help the acute care surgeon anticipate complications and provide treatment that can reduce the incidence or limit the effects of these complications. Re-operative surgery should never be undertaken lightly, and therefore, accurate diagnosis and localization of anastomotic leaks are critical prior to undertaking definitive management. A number of operative and non-operative treatment options exist in the management of anastomotic leaks that can provide satisfactory results. The presentation and treatment of early (<7 days) versus late (>7 days) anastomotic leaks can be markedly different. In this chapter, we discuss the risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment of gastric, intestinal, colorectal, and pancreatic anastomotic leaks in both the early and late postoperative periods.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 910 Madison Ave. #220, Memphis, TN, 38163, USA

    Jason A. Snyder & Martin A. Croce

Authors
  1. Jason A. Snyder
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  2. Martin A. Croce
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Correspondence to Martin A. Croce .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center Acute Care Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Jose J. Diaz

  2. Acute Care Surgery, John Hopkins Hospital Acute Care Surgery, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    David T. Efron

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Snyder, J.A., Croce, M.A. (2017). Management of Anastomotic Leaks—Early <7 Days and Late >7 Days. In: Diaz, J., Efron, D. (eds) Complications in Acute Care Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42376-0_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42376-0_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42374-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42376-0

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