ObjectiveTo investigate clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of surgical resection of pulmonary metastases after esophagectomy. MethodsClinical data of 15 patients who underwent surgical resection of pulmonary metastases after esophagectomy from March 1994 to May 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 10 males and 5 females with their age of 43-72 (65.0±8.8) years. Surgical procedures included partial lung resection, pulmonary wedge resection, segmental resection and lobectomy. Follow-up duration was 60 months after surgical resection of pulmonary metastases. The influence of number and size of pulmonary metastases, TNM staging of primary esophageal cancer, and disease-free interval (DFI) after esophagectomy on postoperative survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy was analyzed. ResultsTwelve, 24 and 60 months survival rates after pulmonary metastasectomy were 80.0%, 66.7% and 6.7%, respec-tively. Median DFI was 30 months. Survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy of patients whose DFI was longer than 24 months was significantly longer than that of patients whose DFI was shorter than 24 months (χ2=5.144, P=0.023). Survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy of patients with solitary pulmonary metastasis was significantly longer than that of patients with multiple pulmonary metastases (χ2=3.990, P=0.046).The size of pulmonary metastases and TNM staging of primary esophageal cancer didn't have significant impact on survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy (P > 0.05). Cox proportional hazards model showed that DFI after esophagectomy was the main factor affecting survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy (P=0.026). ConclusionSurgical resection is a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of pulmonary metas-tases after esophagectomy, and may achieve good clinical outcomes for patients with solitary pulmonary metastasis and patients whose DFI is longer than 24 months.