Esophagectomy and extensive lymphadenectomy still remain effective treatment strategies for patients with resectable esophageal carcinoma (EC). However,traditional esophagectomy is performed via open approaches and associated with significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. In order to reduce morbidity and mortality after esophagectomy,various minimally invasive techniques have been introduced to esophagectomy by many medical centers,and minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has been widely developed in thoracic surgery. MIE has been proven to be a safe and feasible approach for the treatment of EC. Compared with open esophagectomy,MIE can reduce surgical blood loss,achieve complete and standardized tumor resection and lymph node dissection,and obtain equivalent long-term survival results. However,there are still controversies in some aspects of MIE for the treatment of EC,and the superiority of MIE has not been fully demonstrated. In this review,we focus on five aspects of MIE for the treatment of EC,including MIE techniques,perioperative outcomes,completeness and standard of tumor resection,long-term survival results and current problems.
Objective To explore clinical application values of thoracoscopic and laparoscopic-assisted minimally invasive McKeown procedure for esophageal cancer. Methods Clinical data of 196 patients with esophageal cancer （EC） who underwent thoracoscopic and laparoscopic-assisted minimally invasive McKeown procedure in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from February 2008 to August 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 145 male and 51 female patients with their age of 40-76 （58.8±6.6） years. There were 43 patients with EC in the upper segment of the esophagus, 115 patients with EC in the middle segment of the esophagus and 38 patients with EC in the lower segment of the esophagus.Results Total operation time was 215-780 （305.0±40.7） minutes，including thoracoscopic operation time of 50-580 （105.0±38.4） minutes and laparoscopic operation time of 28-105 （54.0±8.6） minutes. Intraoperative blood loss was 20-440 （285.4±38.5） ml. The number of dissected lymph nodes was 6-39 （20.4±1.6） for each patient. Postoperative hospital stay was 7-93 （12.8±5.2） days. Sixty patients （30.6%） had postoperative complications，including 28 patients （14.3%） with pulmonary comp-lications，5 patients （2.5%） with chylothorax，5 patients （2.5%） with arrhythmias，15 patients （7.6%） with anastomotic fistula，10 patients （5.0%） with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury，and other complications in 2 patients. Conclusion Thoracoscopic and laparoscopic-assisted minimally invasive McKeown procedure is a safe and feasible operation for esophageal cancer.
Abstract： Objective To explore the feasibility and safety of concealing incision video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS）. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 11 patients who underwent concealing incision VATS in West China Hospital of Sichuan University between September and November 2011. There were 2 male patients and 9 female patients with their mean age of 34.0 years （ranging from 16 to 59 years）. There were 4 patients with myasthenia gravis, 4 patients with thymoma, 2 patients with thymus cyst, and 1 patient with hyperhidrosis. Extended thoracoscopic thymectomy was performed in 10 patients, and endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy was performed in 1 patient. Results All the VATS procedures were performed successfully, and there was no intraoperative and postoperative complication. The operation time ranged from 30 to 105 minutes with an average time of 70.5 minutes. All the intraoperative blood loss was less than 5 ml. The time of postoperative thoracic drainage was less than 48 hours, and the drainage volume ranged from 30 to 80 ml with a mean volume of 55.5 ml. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 3.5 （2-4）days. The incision was small with a concealed and esthetic appearance. For 10 patients with extended thoracopscopic thymectomy, histopathology test aftre operation showed 4 patients with thymic hyperplasia, 4 with thymoma, and 2 with cystofthymus. Conclusion Concealing incision VATS is a safe and feasible technique, and it can meet the esthetic requirement of patients.