title: Minimally invasive esophagectomy.
abstract: Esophageal resection is associated with a high morbidity and mortality rate. Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) might theoretically decrease this rate. We reviewed the current literature on MIE, with a focus on the available techniques, outcomes and comparison with open surgery. This review shows that the available literature on MIE is still crowded with heterogeneous studies with different techniques. There are no controlled and randomized trials, and the few retrospective comparative cohort studies are limited by small numbers of patients and biased by historical controls of open surgery. Based on the available literature, there is no evidence that MIE brings clear benefits compared to conventional esophagectomy. Increasing experience and the report of larger series might change this scenario.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60637, United States.
authors.forename: Fernando A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Herbella
authors.forename: Marco G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Patti
mesh_terms: D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D016896:Treatment Outcome