[Endoscopic Surgery for Esophageal Cancer]

Area of Science:

• Thoracic surgery
• Surgical oncology
• Minimally invasive procedures

Background:

• Conventional thoracotomic esophagectomy for invasive thoracic esophageal carcinoma has high morbidity and mortality.
• Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) was developed to reduce surgical invasiveness.
• Thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the prone position is a recent MIE approach with unknown benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a minimally invasive esophagectomy technique in the prone position.
• To summarize current literature on prone position MIE for esophageal cancer.
• To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.

Main Methods:

• Presentation of the authors' minimally invasive esophagectomy technique in the prone position.
• Comprehensive literature review of series and comparative studies on prone MIE.
• Analysis of surgical outcomes, morbidity, and mortality rates.

Main Results:

• The prone position thoracoscopic esophagectomy is detailed.
• Existing literature on prone MIE is summarized, including comparative studies.
• The study aims to elucidate the benefits and drawbacks of this minimally invasive method.

Conclusions:

• Minimally invasive esophagectomy in the prone position represents a novel approach for thoracic esophageal cancer.
• Further research and comparative studies are needed to fully establish the advantages and disadvantages of this technique.
• This approach may offer a reduced morbidity and mortality profile compared to conventional methods.