To describe minimally invasive esophagectomy with a focus on peri-esophageal lacuna anatomy

Abstract

Background: Lacuna anatomy has been studied widely in various organs to improve the operative approach and surgical procedure. However, there are few studies about the peri-esophageal lacuna (PEL). The aim of this study was to describe minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) with a focus on PEL anatomy.Methods: From August 2012 to December 2015, patients with esophageal carcinoma underwent MIE by the same group of surgeons at our institution. A double lumen endotracheal tube was used with left lung ventilation without pneumothorax for patients in group 1. A single lumen endotracheal tube was used with two-lung ventilation and right artificial pneumothorax for patients in group 2. The methods that we used for thoracic esophagus mobilization and modularized lymph node dissection, based on the American joint committee on cancer (AJCC) staging manual, in the peri-esophageal space are described. We evaluated the surgical effect, postoperative complications and follow-up results.Results: A total of 147 patients (107 men; mean ± standard deviation age 63.1 ± 7.7 years) were enrolled. Among them, 67 were placed in group 1 and 80 in group 2. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age, gender, tumor location, T stage, N stage or comorbidities. The mean operation duration (283±46 vs 307±69 minutes; p=0.007) and blood loss (129±84 vs 260±225 mL; p=0.000) was less in group 2 than group 1. Group 2 also yielded a larger number of lymph nodes compared with group 1 (22.5 ± 11.1 vs 16.4 ± 7.4; p=0.007). Complication rates were similar between the two groups, with hoarseness developing in a significantly smaller number of patients in group 1 than group 2 (1% vs 21%; p=0.000). There was no significant difference between the two groups in one-year (78.3% vs 84.2%; p=0.345) and three-year (52.1% vs 62.7%; p=0.210) survival rates for group 1 (a double lumen endotracheal tube with left lung ventilation without pneumothorax) versus group 2 (a single lumen endotracheal tube with two-lung ventilation and right artificial pneumothorax).Conclusion: Esophageal mobilization based on PEL and the modularized lymph node dissection based on the AJCC cancer staging manual improves surgical outcomes.