Gel immersion endoscopic submucosal dissection: clinical experience with 13 cases of superficial esophageal cancer

Esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) of tumors located on the gravity side is technically challenging. Given that gel immersion ESD (GIESD) is performed by immersing lesions in gel, we hypothesized that it could be used to eliminate the disadvantage associated with submerging the gravity side. Here, we performed GIESD using VISCOCLEAR for superficial esophageal cancer on the gravity side of the esophagus, with monopolar devices. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term outcomes of GIESD for superficial esophageal cancer. Fifteen patients with 16 superficial esophageal cancers underwent GIESD by a single operator, and 13 cases were evaluated. All patients were male, and GIESD was performed in the middle (12/13, 92.3 %) and lower (1/13, 7.7 %) thoracic esophagus. The lesions were located on the left (7/13, 53.8 %), posterior (5/13, 38.5 %), and right (1/13, 7.7 %) esophageal walls. The median procedure time was 27 minutes (interquartile range [IQR], 14–68), and the median dissection speed was 20 mm (2) /min (IQR, 14–25.7). The median amount of gel used was 400 mL (IQR, 360–580), and no gel-related adverse events were observed. The median total dose of midazolam was 3 mg (IQR, 2–5). GIESD was completed with en bloc and R0 resections achieved in 100 % of the 13 cases. Delayed adverse events, such as bleeding or perforation, did not occur (0/13, 0 %).