Application of the HyperEye Medical System for esophageal cancer surgery: a preliminary report

The HyperEye Medical System is a newly developed device that allows for the visualization of the fluorescent image of indocyanine green enhanced by near-infrared light among the surrounding vivid color images. We recently applied this system to confirm the blood flow of an esophageal substitute, and for sentinel node navigation during esophagectomy. Five consecutive patients with thoracic esophageal cancer who underwent a subtotal esophagectomy between June 2010 and May 2011 were enrolled in the study. The esophageal substitute used for reconstruction was the stomach and ileocecum in four and one cases, respectively. In all cases with a reconstructive stomach, fine arterial blood flow and venous perfusion were observed. The blood flow of the reconstructive colon was poor before microvascular anastomosis, however, it dramatically increased after anastomosis. Concerning the sentinel node navigation, the fluorescence of lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, and the tumor site were detected. The postoperative courses of all cases were uneventful, with no mortalities or anastomotic leakage occurring.