[Radical surgery with mini-thoracolaparotomy for esophageal cancer].

In our institute, radical esophagectomy through mini-thoracolaparotomy has been performed as a less-invasive surgery for esophageal cancer since 1996. We describe the indications for and operative procedures of mini-thoracolaparotomy. Next we report the preliminary results of a prospective randomized trial that compared mini-thoracolaparotomy with conventional thoracolaparotomy in 30 patients without neoadjuvant therapy. There were no differences between the two groups in operative time, bleeding volume, and number of dissected lymph nodes. Thoracolaparotomy was effective in decreasing the quantity of morphinerequired in the ICU and shortening hospitalization after surgery. Thoracolaparotomy was effective in preventing a decrease in and early recovery of postoperative vital capacity. In clinical data on radical esophagectomy performed through a right thoracotomy and reconstruction with a stomach tube from 1996 to 2000, the 5-year survival rate of 63 patients in the thoracolaparotomy group (67.6%) did not differ from that of 124 patients in the conventional surgery group (49.9%).