Effectiveness of Methods for Pyloric Drainage in esophagecTomY: Botox vs. Pyloromyotomy

The goal of this pragmatic, registry-based, randomized clinical trial is to find out if using botulinum toxin (Botox) to help drain the stomach during an esophagectomy works as well as a pyloromyotomy in patients undergoing elective esophagectomy for benign or malignant esophageal disease. Both methods are intended to prevent problems with food emptying too slowly from the stomach (delayed gastric emptying), which can cause discomfort after surgery. The main question it aims to answer is:

Is intrapyloric Botox injection as a drainage procedure during esophagectomy non-inferior in preventing symptoms of delayed gastric emptying at 6 months postoperatively compared to pyloromyotomy?

Researchers will compare intrapyloric Botox injection to pyloromyotomy to see if Botox is non-inferior to pyloromyotomy in easing symptoms of delayed gastric emptying.

Participants will:

Be randomized to one of two treatment groups-either intrapyloric Botox injection or pyloromyotomy-during their esophagectomy.

Complete surveys assessing digestive symptoms at standard postoperative follow-up intervals (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years postoperatively).

Undergo a standard gastric emptying study at 6 months after surgery.

This is a single institution, pragmatic, registry-based, prospective, single-blinded, randomized, double-arm, noninferiority clinical trial comparing outcomes of two standard-of-care alternative intraoperative methods of pyloric drainage during esophagectomy. One arm of the study will be patients receiving intervention 1, intrapyloric Botox injection (Botox Group), and the other arm will be patients receiving intervention 2, pyloromyotomy (Pyloromyotomy Group). Participants will be allocated equally to the interventions being compared (allocation ratio 1:1).

Patients randomized for intrapyloric Botox injection will undergo our standard procedure as follows: 100 units of Botox is dissolved in 10 mL normal saline. After identifying the pylorus during esophagectomy, 10 mL of the Botox solution is injected intramuscularly at the anterior pyloric ring in 2 separate areas and in 1 area on each side of the pyloric ring (total 4 areas). Patients randomized for pyloromyotomy will undergo standard pyloromyotomy through a transabdominal, anterior approach.

This study will occur at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, OH. Three staff surgeons will perform these operations.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years of age or older
* Undergoing elective esophagectomy (thoracoabdominal, Ivor-Lewis, McKeown)
* Receiving a gastric conduit for alimentary reconstruction
* Technically able to receive either intrapyloric Botox injection or pyloromyotomy as ultimately determined intraoperatively
* Willing and able to provide informed consent
* Willing and able to participate in long-term follow up including study visits and surveys

Exclusion Criteria:

* Undergoing emergent esophagectomy (e.g., for esophageal perforation)
* Patients with underlying neuromuscular disease as Botox would be contraindicated (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, muscular dystrophies, Lambert-Eaton syndrome)
* Patients undergoing left thoracoabdominal without left cervical neck incision (i.e., Sweet esophagectomy) - excluded due to the extent of gastric resection
* Pregnancy
* Allergy or hypersensitivity to botulinum toxin
* Cannot feasibly receive both pyloric interventions as determined intraoperatively (e.g., patients with central obesity undergoing thoracoabdominal esophagectomy makes for a technically difficult pyloromyotomy)