Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy Improves Survival

The results of the largest study to date evaluating minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) to treat esophageal cancer show that the procedure reduces mortality rates and hospital stays compared to most open procedures. These results were reported at the annual meeting of the American Surgical Association in Washington, DC (USA).

Researchers evaluated MIE in 221 patients, comparing hospital stays and mortality rates with similarly sized studies of open methods, including thoracotomy and laparotomy, or both. The results showed that the median hospital stay was seven days for patients with MIE, compared to more than 10 days for patients with open procedures. Also, mortality occurred in 1.3% of the MIE patients, compared to rates of up to 5% or higher reported for open procedures.

MIE is a video-assisted surgical procedure that utilizes instruments introduced into the body through very small incisions and a laparoscope. Patients who are candidates for MIE undergo extensive preoperative evaluation involving laparoscopic staging, endoscopic ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT) scans to assess the extent of the disease.
"Our study demonstrates that minimally invasive esophagectomy offers results as good as, if not better than, open esophageal procedures,” said Dr. James D. Luketich, associate professor of surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (PA, USA). However, Dr. Luketich stressed that the success of esophagectomy, regardless of method used, largely depends on surgical expertise in the procedure and a high volume of procedures performed annually.





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