title: Minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy is a feasible and safe approach for patients with oesophageal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Minimally invasive approaches are increasingly being used in oesophagectomy. The aim of this study was to compare the short-term clinical outcomes of the minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy (MIILE) technique with those of the open Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy (OILE) technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified 131 patients who underwent MIILE combined with thoracoscopy and laparoscopy. These patients were compared with 248 patients who underwent OILE between January 2012 and December 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MIILE and OILE produced similar post-operative hospital mortality (MIILE 2.3 versus OILE 2%; P = 1.000). The MIILE approach was associated with a significant decrease in the time until chest drain removal (MIILE 9.07 ± 5.075 days versus OILE 11.26 ± 6.989 days; P = 0.002) and post-operative length of stay (MIILE 10.89 ± 4.976 days versus OILE 12.83 ± 6.921 days; P = 0.002). Pneumonia was the most common complication in both groups. MIILE patients exhibited a lower incidence of post-operative pneumonia (MIILE 17.6% versus OILE 28.2%; P = 0.024) compared with OILE. The survival rate did not significantly differ between the MIILE and OILE groups (1-year survival rates: MIILE 86 versus OILE 88.2%; P = 0.537).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study, we demonstrate that MIILE is a feasible and safe approach for patients with middle or lower oesophageal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China.|Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Xinyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Meiqing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Mingfa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Mingran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Changqing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Zhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: minimally invasive surgery; oesophageal cancer; oesophagectomy