The modern approach to esophageal palliative and emergency surgery

Thoracic surgeons currently have multiple options and strategies to guide treatment in esophageal palliative and emergency conditions. To guide the selection of an individualized palliative approach, physicians, including thoracic surgeons, must take into consideration many factors including prognosis, performance status and comorbidities of patients. For dysphagia more specifically, esophageal stent placement is the most widely used intervention for rapidly relieving dysphagia in inoperable esophageal cancer patients. The combination of esophageal stent placement with other therapies has an impact on palliative care. Innovations including radioactive stents, drug-eluding stents and biodegradable stents will require further evaluation and validation studies. Currently, patients with inoperable esophageal cancer have access to oncological and biological therapies that are improving their prognosis. A shift toward restaging and potential curative intent is occurring in current clinical practice. In acute intrathoracic esophageal perforation cases, high index of suspicion, multidisciplinary team expertise, antibiotics and hybrid treatment strategies, have significantly improved outcomes of patients in recent years. Hybrid treatment strategies denote the combination of minimally invasive interventions for source control and endoluminal procedures to seal the esophageal perforation. Endoluminal procedures as treatment of acute intrathoracic esophageal perforation include stent placement, over-the-scope clip and endoluminal vacuum therapy. Future perspective in the management of esophageal perforation seems to be the combination of endoluminal therapies tailored to the specific clinical scenario. Thoracic surgeons benefit from mastering endoluminal therapies and advanced endoscopic techniques. An understanding of these rapidly evolving therapies, i.e., outcomes, limitations and innovations, is required to optimally manage esophageal palliative and emergency conditions.