[Clinical application of minimally invasive esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma]

To investigate the feasibility and safety of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for esophageal carcinoma.

Clinical data of 298 esophageal carcinoma cases who were treated by MIE in the Fujian Provincial Cancer Hospital from June 2008 to April 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.

All the patients underwent MIE successfully except one conversion to open surgery. The mean operative time was (242.3±58.7) min. The postoperative length of hospital stay was (17.4±9.8) d. The number of harvested lymph nodes of total, the mediastinum, the abdomen and the cervix was 27.5±12.2, 10.7±5.7, 13.3±7.8, and 7.7±8.1, respectively. Postoperative complication rate was 29.9%, including pneumonia (n=41), recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (n=25), anastomotic leak (n=9), wound infection (n=7), and others (n=7). After follow up of 2 to 47 months, 3 patients were found to develop anastomotic stricture. There were no recurrence, metastasis, or death.

Minimally invasive esophagectomy is a safe, feasible, effective and minimally invasive surgical technique.