Circumferential endoscopic resection (ER) of the esophageal mucosa could find its place in the treatment of dysplastic
Barrett's esophagus or extensive squamous cell
neoplasia. However, the occurrence of esophageal
strictures remains a major complication after ER exceeding 75% of the circumference. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a modified, pH = 2, self-assembling
peptide matrix (4[Arg-
Ala-Asp-Ala]) (SAP) on the development of
esophageal stricture after circumferential ER in a swine model. We performed a circumferential ER in 35 swine under
general anesthesia. Five animals were included in the control group, 11 animals received the SAP matrix immediately after the resection, and 11 received the SAP matrix associated to a local
steroid immediately after the resection. Follow-up endoscopy and esophagogram were performed before slaughter and necropsy at day 14. Eight treated animals were kept alive until day 28. At day 14, 27% of the animals in the SAP group developed a symptomatic
stricture versus 100% in the control group (P = 0.008) and 50% in the SAP-
triamcinolone group (P = 0.11). Application of an SAP matrix after circumferential ER in the swine allowed a significant reduction of the incidence of symptomatic
stricture at day 14. Adding
triamcinolone brought no significant improvement.