We read with interest Junemann-Ramirez and colleagues’ article [1] on esophagogastric anastomotic leaks and their analysis of predictive factors, management and survival. We agree with the authors that esophagogastric anastomotic leaks are the most devastating of complications after esophageal resection and that they carry high morbidity and mortality rates. The choice of surgical procedure has...

HYPOTHESIS When assessing the effect of operative approach on outcomes, it may be less relevant whether a transhiatal or an Ivor Lewis esophagectomy was performed and may be more important to focus on patient selection and the quality of the hospital performing the operation. DESIGN Observational study. SETTING Hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Qu...

Cases of skeletal muscle metastasis of esophageal carcinoma are very rare, with few reports of long-term survival. We report a case of long-term survival after surgical resection of skeletal muscle metastasis. A 56-year-old man with advanced esophageal cancer and early gastric cancer underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy, 2-field lymph node dissection, partial gastrectomy and gastric tube recon...

Esophagectomy can result in various postoperative nutrition-related complications that may impair the nutritional status of the patient. In our institution, we usually initiate 16-hour continuous jejunostomy feeding using an enteral feeding pump on postoperative day 2 as a routine protocol after esophagectomy. The target calorie intake was achieved in 6-7 days with this protocol, which is longe...

ALI Acute lung injury ARDS Acute respiratory distress syndrome COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease CT Computerized tomography CXR Chest X-ray (radiograph) DLT Double lumen endotracheal tube(s) ECG Electrocardiogram EGD Esophagogastroduodenoscopy EUS Endoscopic ultrasound GDFT Goal-directed fluid therapy GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease LEA Lumbar epidural analgesia LES Lower esophage...

PURPOSE To evaluate a technique to remove the thoracic esophagus without thoracotomy and two methods for thoracic esophageal replacement in dogs. METHODS 27 ex-vivo dogs were divided into three groups in order to evaluate: G1 - total thoracic esophagectomy by the everting stripping method; G2 - total thoracic esophagectomy and esophageal substitution using the whole stomach; G3 - total thorac...

BACKGROUND Esophageal cancer represents a major public health problem in the world. Several minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) techniques have been described and represent a safe alternative for the surgical management of esophageal cancer in selected centers with high volume and surgeons experienced in minimally invasive procedures. METHODS The authors reviewed the most recent and larges...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the short-term outcomes and three-year survival between dual-incision esophagectomy (DIE) and total minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy (MIME) for esophageal cancer patients with negative upper mediastinal lymph nodes requiring esophagectomy and neck anastomosis. METHODS One hundred and fifty patients underwent DIE, while 361 patients recei...