[Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer]

Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer Abstract. Oncological esophagectomy with gastric pull up and intrathoracic represents the standard surgical procedure in the curative treatment of malignant tumors of the esophagus and the esophagogastric junction. The procedure, as two or three body cavities are accessed, has a natural level of invasiveness, which suggests lowering the surgical trauma using minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Because of the complexity of the surgical procedure, minimally invasive esophagectomy is an operation with relevant surgical learning curve. As of now, two principally different minimally invasive techniques for esophageal resection are established in clinical routine in specialized centers, the conventional laparoscopy/thoracoscopy based method and the robotic approach. Benefits of minimally invasive esophagectomy are reduced pulmonary complications and reduced postoperative pain. The surgical radicality of both minimally invasive techniques is at least comparable to the open approach and combined MIS/open approach, long-term survival outcomes from randomized controlled trials are pending. The robotic surgical technology has evolved dramatically over the last decade and oncological esophagectomy offers meaningful opportunity for application. Due to further technological progress, robotic surgery is expected to play an even more important role in the future. Focusing on the direct comparison of conventional minimally invasive esophagectomy and robotic-assisted esophagectomy, the randomized ROBOT-2 trial will reveal important evidence.