Journal of Gastrointestinal & Digestive System
Open Access

Abstract

Background: Esophagectomy for Carcinoma of the upper esophagus has traditionally been performed by open methods. Results from most series include mortality rates in excess of 5% and hospital stays frequently greater than 14 days. Laparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy (LTHE) with neoadjuvant chemotherapy has the potential to improve these results and may lead to a sound outcome, but only a few articles have reported it. Objective: To investigate the method of LTHE with neoadjuvant chemotherapy treating cervical esophageal cancer. Methods: LTHE was performed in 5 patients with carcinoma of the upper esophagus. There were 4 men and 1 women. Median age was 64 years (range, 54?75). Indications for operation included high-grade dysplasia (n = 1) and cancer (n = 4). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was used in 5 patients. Results: There was no conversion to open procedure. LTHE was successfully completed in 5 patients. The median intensive care unit stay was 1.5 days (range, 1?3); hospital stay was 10.5 days (range, 9?13). There was no anastomotic leak case happenning. At a mean follow-up of 13 months (range, 1?24), quality of life scores were similar to preoperative values and population norms. Conclusions: LTHE with neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a safe and relatively advanced, complex procedure with little blood loss and less-invasion. Its long-term outcome needs to be investigated with large-volume cases.

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