Single-Port Thoracoscopic Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer

This study was to explore the safety and feasibility of single-port thoracoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. The patients were placed in left lateral prone position, and a 4-cm incision through the 4th–5th intercostal space was taken on the post-axillary line. Except for a surgical wound protector, no other special instruments were used for single-port technique. The 10-mm camera and two or three thoracoscopic instruments were used for the thoracic phase. Mobilization of stomach with celiac lymph node dissection was performed via multiple-port laparoscopic approach. Cervical double-layered anastomosis was completed by hand-sewn technique. A total of twenty-eight patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma underwent the single-port thoracoscopic surgery. All of the patients underwent R0 resection. The median time taken for thoracic phase and total operation time were 126 min (range, 121–153) and the 253 min (range, 197–309), respectively. The median number of resected thoracic lymph nodes was 16 (range, 12–24). There were no deaths or severe postoperative complications in this study, with no conversion of minimally invasive surgery to open procedure. Our preliminary results demonstrate that this technique is safe and feasible for treating esophageal cancer within an acceptable length of operation time, which does not compromise the surgical radicality.