Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus
-
The study aims to evaluate the safety and availability of totally minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy (MIIE) with single-utility incision video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Forty-one patients with mid-lower thoracic esophageal cancer were prospectively treated with totally MIIE. Two stages of laparoscopic-thoracoscopic procedures were performed. ⋯ The average thoracic or abdominal lymph node yield was 14.7 ± 8.8 and 6.3 ± 5.7, respectively. No statistically significant differences were identified between Group 1 and Group 2. MIIE with single-utility incision video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is feasible in patients with mid-lower thoracic esophageal cancer without compromising the extent of surgical resection and perioperative outcomes.