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A 63-year-old male visited our hospital, complaining of discomfort when swallowing. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a type 2 tumor in the middle thoracic esophagus, which was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma by endoscopic biopsy. Computed tomography revealed situs inversus totalis (SIT). We assessed the relationship of the esophagus with neighboring organs using preoperative three-dimensional imaging. We performed thoracoscopic esophagectomy with radical lymph node dissection in the right decubitus position and hand-assisted laparoscopic gastric mobilization in the supine position. The definitive diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma, pT2N1M0, pStage IIB according to the Union for International Cancer Control. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, and 5 years post-operation, he is alive without recurrence. In SIT patients, surgical procedures are difficult because of anatomic transposition. Three-dimensional imaging effectively assesses the anatomical structure and contributes to safer thoracoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer patients with SIT. Relevant literature is also discussed and reviewed.

Background: Esophageal achalasia causes dysphagia following impaired relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter due to the degeneration of Auerbach's plexus in the esophageal smooth muscle. Recently, peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has become one of the preferred treatment options for esophageal achalasia. However, pathomorphological changes after POEM have not been well examined. Case presentation: A 65-year-old man with a history of POEM for esophageal achalasia was diagnosed with clinical stage II (cT2-N0-M0) thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and was consequently treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by thoracoscopic esophagectomy. Intraoperatively, the esophagus appeared dilated, reflecting esophageal achalasia; however, fairly slight fibrous adhesions were observed between the esophagus and the pericardial surface despite previously performed POEM via an anterior incision. Histopathological examination revealed esophageal wall thickening, edema, and fibrosis extending from the lamina propria to the submucosa. Besides, the majority of the inner layer and some proportion of the outer layer of the muscularis propria were found to be missing or atrophic at the esophagogastric junction (EGJ). No ganglion cells could be detected at the Auerbach's plexus. Conclusions: The previous history of POEM did not affect circumferential mediastinal periesophageal dissection during thoracoscopic esophagectomy. Nevertheless, a large proportion of the inner layer of the muscularis propria at the EGJ level seemed to have become lost or atrophic because of the POEM procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Recently, operation cases of elderly patients are increasing in esophageal carcinoma. Because elderly patients often have pre-existing disease and may easily cause postoperative complications, it is necessary to consider whether surgical treatment is appropriate for those elderly patients. The aim of this study is to investigate the safety of esophagectomy for elderly patients with esophageal carcinoma. Methods All 483 patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma between April 2007 and March 2015 were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups: elderly group (over 75 years old: n = 72) and control group (under 75 years old: n = 411). The short and long-term outcomes were retrospectively examined to those groups. Results In the elderly group, their median age was 77 [75–85] and all of their performance status was 0 or 1, except 4 patients. 66 cases of the elderly group had some comorbidity, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (93.0 vs. 80.2%, P = 0.007). Pre-surgical treatment was performed to 38.9% of the elderly group, whereas 58.9% in the control group (P = 0.002). No significant differences were demonstrated in clinical stage, occupation site, histological type and pathological stage between these groups. The operation time was relatively shorter in the elderly group compare to the control group (549 vs. 585min, P = 0.018). The number of dissected lymph node was also smaller in elderly group (31 vs. 35, P = 0.048). The postoperative complications such as pneumonia, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis did not show any difference between these groups. The 5-year overall survival rate (OS) and the 5-year disease specific survival rate (DSS) also did not show statistical differences between the elderly and control group (OS: 53.0 vs. 57.0%, P = 0.765; DSS: 64.6 vs. 62.7%, P = 0.605). Conclusion Between elderly and control group, there was no difference in postoperative complication and long-term survival. This study confirmed the safety of esophagectomy for elderly patients with esophageal carcinoma by reducing treatment stress such as neoadjuvant therapy, extended operation time and extensive lymphadenectomy. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]