Leakage from a cervical esophagogastric anastomosis still accounts for major morbidity and mortality after subtotal esophageal resection. Its prevalence might adversely be affected by drainage of the anastomosis. Therefore we conducted a prospective randomized trial on 60 consecutive patients after subtotal esophagectomy and cervical esophagogastrostomy. The patients were assigned to either a drainage (n = 29) or a non-drainage group (n = 31). Suture-line disruption was more common in the non-drainage (n = 6) than in the drainage group (n = 3), and other complications were also more frequent in the non-drainage than in the drainage group. We did not note any adverse effects of drainage itself. Taking this small collective into account, we nevertheless recommend drainage for cervical esophagogastrostomy because it is simple, free of complications and seems to have no major impact on the incidence of anastomotic disruption.