Diagnosing conduit leak after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer by computed tomography leak protocol and standard esophagram: Is old school still the best?

The imaging modalities available to evaluate anastomotic leak complicating esophagectomy include CT-Esophageal Protocol (CTEP) and esophagram. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of these two modalities, alone or in combination, with the final diagnosis of leak established by endoscopy, surgery and/or the clinical course and evaluate management implications.