ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the safety and outcomes of thoracoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.Methods The clinical data of 22 patients with esophageal cancer received thoracoscopic minimally invasive esophagectomy ( study group ) were retrospectively analyzed and compared with 46 patients underwent conventional open thoracic esophagectomy( control group) .The medium-term clinic outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results Compared to the control group,the study group showed significantly longer operation time[(183 ±37)mins vs (239 ±41)mins,t=6.19,P=0.002],less intraoperative blood loss[(95 ±33)mL vs (115 ±27)mL,t=5.04, P=0.004],shorter postoperative hospital stay[(15.8 ±6.2)d vs (17.5 ±7.1)d,t=5.62,P=0.003],and more removed lymph nodes[(11.6 ±4.2) vs (10.3 ±5.8),t=-3.19,P=0.018)].No significant difference was observed in the survival rate between the two groups (χ2 =0.358,P=0.449) .Conclusion There is no difference in medium-term clinic outcomes between the two kinds of esophagectomy.The patients with esophageal cancer received thoracoscopic minimally invasive esophagectomy has less complication and quick recovery.And the technology should be widely applied.