Efficacy of thoracoscopic esophagectomy for advanced esophageal cancer

Twenty patients had undergone thoracoscopic esophagectomy by reconstruction of gastric role for advanced esophageal cancer. All patients had a relativ e contraindication to trans-thoracic esophagectomy with:radical lymphadenec tomy. After a median follow up of 15.5 months, 14 patients are alive withou t evidence of disease. Four patients had recurrence as follows. two patient s were mediastinal lymph node recurrence at:,2 and 12 months, and the other two patients were hematogenous metastasis at 16 and 7 months. One patient died 16 months after surgery from left lung infarction by hilar lymph node recurrence. One patient died 22 months after surgery of critical pneumonia. The results of the present study showed thoracoscopic esophagectomy could b e performed safety for even advanced esophageal cancer with radical lymphad ectomy. At the present time, there is evident advantage for minimally invas ion during esophagectomy, but futher long-term survival should be necessary to estimate thoracoscopic esophagectomy.