In the largest Nordic study to date concerning oesophageal cancer surgery, the researchers found clear evidence that decompression with a nasogastric tube is associated with less serious complications. Their results challenge a trend of declining use of the nasogastric tube after major surgical procedures. The study was led from Uppsala University and has now been published in Lancet Regional Health Europe.

A number of small studies had previously suggested that it is safe to abandon the tradition of leaving in a decompressing – but for many patients unpleasant – nasogastric tube after surgery to remove oesophageal cancer (gullet cancer). The tube is plastic and runs from the nose down to the stomach, and its use in this particular context is to relieve and reduce pressure in this newly o

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