title: Short-term outcomes of minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Esophagectomy represents the gold standard in the treatment of resectable esophageal carcinoma. This retrospective study evaluated the significance of minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy (MIILE) for the treatment of esophageal carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively evaluated 269 patients with esophageal carcinoma who received Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy in our center between October 2011 and January 2013. Of those 269 patients, 106 underwent MIILE and 163 underwent open Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy (OILE). The clinicopathologic factors, operational factors, and postoperative complications were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups were similar in terms of age, sex, smoking history, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade, tumor location, preoperative staging, and incidence of comorbidities. The MIILE approach was associated with a significant decrease in surgical blood loss (p=0.04), chest tube duration (p=0.02), and postoperative stay (p=0.02) relative to the OILE approach. The postoperative in-hospital mortality and total morbidity did not differ between the two groups. The MIILE approach was associated with significantly fewer wound infections than the OILE approach (p=0.04). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the number of total lymph nodes dissected (p=0.69) or the locations of the total lymph nodes dissected (p=0.42).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our MIILE technique can be safely and effectively performed for intrathoracic anastomosis during esophageal operations with favorable early outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital affiliated with Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Ming-ran
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital affiliated with Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Chang-qing
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital affiliated with Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Ming-fa
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital affiliated with Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Xin-yu
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital affiliated with Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital affiliated with Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China. Electronic address: xumeiqing6@163.com.
authors.forename: Mei-qing
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical / Q000503:physiopathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome