Carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus; a discussion of early diagnosis and surgical treatment.
Dysphagia, substernal or epigastric distress, and regurgitation of food are important early symptoms in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the esophagus. Temporary remission in symptoms does not rule out esophageal cancer. The use of thick barium meal and routine thorough examination of the esophagus in upright and supine positions in all upper gastrointestinal roentgen studies, even though the clinical symptoms point to the upper abdomen, are of great importance. The spread of the cancer to both mediastinal and subdiaphragmatic lymph nodes makes transthoracic thoracolaparotomy the one approach which will permit the surgeon to perform a one-stage esophagogastrostomy, and to adequately evaluate and deal with cancerous tissue on both sides of the diaphragm. This one-stage procedure permits the patient to swallow normally after operation, and the costly and time-consuming uncertainties of the many-staged operations are avoided. The comfort which the operation gives to otherwise doomed patients, along with the improving postoperative mortality rate, offers new hope to those who have cancer of the esophagus.
D003680:Deglutition Disorders; D003964:Diaphragm; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes; D008482:Mediastinum; D008875:Middle Aged
ESOPHAGUS/cancer