Lymphadenectomy along the left recurrent laryngeal nerve by a minimally invasive esophagectomy in the prone position for thoracic esophageal cancer.
BACKGROUND
A thoracoabdominal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer is a severely invasive procedure. A thoracoscopic esophagectomy may minimize injury to the chest wall and reduce surgical invasiveness. Conventional thoracoscopic procedures are performed in the left lateral-decubitus position. Recently, procedures performed in the prone position have received more attention because of improvements in operative exposure or surgeon ergonomics. However, the efficacy of the prone position in an aggressive thoracoscopic esophagectomy with an extensive lymphadenectomy has not been fully documented.


METHODS
We successfully performed a thoracoscopic esophagectomy with a three-field extensive lymphadenectomy in 43 esophageal carcinoma patients in the prone position from December 2007 to December 2009. We describe our procedures with the patients in the prone position, focusing especially on a lymphadenectomy along the left recurrent laryngeal nerve where the nodes are frequently involved and precise dissection is technically challenging. To determine further the advantages of this position, we retrospectively compared surgical outcomes in 43 patients to those of 34 patients who underwent a thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the left lateral decubitus position as a historical control from January 2006 to November 2007.


RESULTS
It was easier to explore the operative field around the left recurrent laryngeal nerve during a thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the prone position. The mean duration of the aggressive thoracoscopic procedure in the prone position was 307 min, which was significantly longer than in the left lateral decubitus position, but the total estimated blood loss in the prone position was significantly lower. There was no difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two procedures.


CONCLUSIONS
A thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the prone position is technically safe and feasible and provides better surgeon ergonomics and better operative exposure around the left recurrent laryngeal nerve during an aggressive esophagectomy.
Noshiro
Hirokazu
H
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, 5-1-1 Nabeshima, Saga, 849-8501, Japan. noshiro@cc.saga-u.ac.jp
Iwasaki
Hironori
H
Kobayashi
Kiitiro
K
Uchiyama
Akihiko
A
Miyasaka
Yoshihiro
Y
Masatsugu
Toshihiro
T
Koike
Kenta
K
Miyazaki
Kouji
K
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000379:methods*; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056888:Patient Positioning / Q000379:methods; D016684:Prone Position; D012009:Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013909:Thorax