Objective To compare the outcomes between modified McKeown minimally invasive approach and open left chest-neck incision approach esophagectomy for treatment cancer of mid-to-distal thoracic esophagus.Methods We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 128 patients with mid-to-distal thoracic esophageal cancer who underwent thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy from March 2009 to March 2012.One hundred and fifty patients were served as control that underwent open left chest-neck incision approach esophagectomy in the same period.Results All the operations were performed successfully.There was significant difference between modified McKeown minimally invasive approach and open left chest-neck incision approach esophagectomy with regard to respiratory complications (10.9 ％ vs.20.7％),pneumonia (4.7％ vs.11.3 ％),atelectasis (3.1％ vs.10.5 ％,),pleural effusion (3.1％ vs.10.0％) and delayed gastric emptying (8.6 ％ vs.1.3 ％) (P ＜ 0.05).Hospital stay was significantly shorter in the minimally-invasive group than the open group [(11.7 ± 3.6) days vs.(13.9 ± 6.5) days,P＜0.05],and had significantly less blood loss [(88.1 ±41.8) ml vs.(360.5 ±80.6) ml,P＜0.05] and the number of lymph nodes harvested (22.9 ±5.7 vs.16.8 ±4.5,P ＜0.05).No significant differences were observed on the operative time,mortality and other complication between the two groups.Conclusion Modified McKeown minimally invasive approach esophagectomy is techeniqually feasible and safely which have lower blood loss,lower respiratory complication,shorter hospital stay and more number of lymph nodes harvested comparing to open left chest-neck incision approach.

Objective To investigate the application value and feasibility of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.Methods The clinical data of 304 patients with esophageal cancer who were admitted to the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2013 and July 2014 were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients underwent esophagogastric partial resection, esophagogastric cervical anastomosis and 2-field lymph node dissection under general anesthesia.The management of 195 patients guided by ERAS were allocated to the ERAS group and 109 patients receiving perioperative traditional treatments were allocated to the control group.Observing indicators included : (1) enteral and parenteral nutritional support treatments;(2) nutrient indexs: levels of serum albumin (Alb) and prealbumin;(3) the recovery of gastrointestinal function: time to anal exsufflation and defecation;(4) postoperative complications and the grading according to Clavien standard;(5) duration of postoperative hospital stay and treatment expenses;(6) risk factors affecting postoperative complications by multivariate analysis;(7) independent risk factors affecting occurrence rate of postoperative complications by univariate analysis.Measurement data with normal distribution were presented as (x) ± s and analyzed using the t test.Nonnormal distribution data were analyzed by the Wilcoxon rank sum test.Comparison of repeated data was analyzed by the repeated measures ANOVA.Categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact probability.The multiple linear regression analysis and Logistic regression were used to measure the multivariate analysis of continuous variables and binary variable, respectively.Results (1) During the enteral and parenteral nutritional support treatments, 11 patients with surgery-related complications in the ERAS group didn't receive oral intake at postoperative day 1,26 proceeded the intravenous rehydration at postoperative day 4 due to calorie intake less than 80％ of calorie requirement, and enteral nutritional support treatment was well-tolerated in the control group.(2) Comparison of nutrient indexs : the levels of serum Alb and prealbumin at postoperative day 1, 3 and 5 were (37.2±3.9)g/L, (39.1 ±3.5)g/L, (38.5 ±3.0)g/L and (0.20 ±0.06)g/L, (0.13 ±0.04)g/L, (0.13 ±0.04)g/L in the ERAS group, (37.7 ±2.8)g/L, (39.0 ±3.6)g/L, (38.4 ±3.8)g/L and (0.18 ± 0.06) g/L, (0.13 ± 0.04) g/L, (0.13 ± 0.04) g/L in the control group, respectively, showing no significant difference in the postoperative changing trends between the 2 groups (F =0.357, 0.453, P ＞ 0.05).(3) The recovery of gastrointestinal function : time to first anal exsufflation and first defecation were (2.1 ± 0.8) days and (3.4 ± 1.2) days in the ERAS group, (3.2 ± 0.9) days and (5.5 ± 1.5) days in the control group, respectively,showing significant differences between the 2 groups (t =-10.505,-13.174, P ＜0.05).(4) There was no death in the perioperative period.The overall incidences of postoperative complications and number of patients with severe complications were 26.15％ (51/195) and 8 in the ERAS group, 30.28％ (33/109) and 8 in the control group, with no significant difference between the 2 groups (x2=0.594, 1.469, P ＞ 0.05).Eight and 10 patients in the ERAS and control groups underwent gastrointestinal decompression, 6 and 8 patients in the ERAS and control groups underwent retreatment in the intensive care unit (ICU), 3 and 2 patients in the ERAS and control groups were readmitted to the hospital at 3 weeks after discharge, with no significant difference in the above indexes (x2=0.185, 2.892, P ＞0.05).(5)The duration of postoperative hospital stay and treatment expenses were (6.8 ±2.4)days and (25 088 ±10 336)yuan in the ERAS group, (11.1 ±3.4)days and (38 819± 14 854)yuan in the control group, showing significant differences between the 2 groups (t =-12.782,-9.452,P ＜ 0.05).(6) The age, gender, preoperative weight loss ＞ 10％, tumor staging, tumor differentiation,neoadjuvant chemotherapy and time of food intake were risk factors affecting incidence of postoperative complication in patients with esophageal cancer by the univariate analysis (x2=2.484, 2.333, 0.061, 8.553,2.459, 0.163, 3.462, P ＜ 0.05).(7) The age, preoperative weight loss ＞ 10％, tumor staging and neoadjuvant chemotherapy were independent risk factors affecting incidence of postoperative complication in patients with esophageal cancer by the multivariate analysis (OR =0.365, 10.761,0.290, 8.140, 95％ confidence interval :0.198-0.671, 4.122-28.095, 0.130-0.645, 3.946-16.791, P ＜0.05), but time of food intake was not an independent risk factor (OR =0.540, 95％ CI: 0.280-1.041, P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions ERAS in the esophageal minimally invasive surgery for esophageal cancer is safe and feasible, with the advantages of shorter recovery time of gastrointestinal function and duration of hospital stay, lower treatment expenses and a better application value compared with traditional treatment.

Objective:To compare three different routes for nutritional support after thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy. Meth-ods:The clinical data of 310 esophageal cancer patients undergoing thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy in Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2010 to October 2013 were analyzed (early oral feeding group:110, nasojejunal tube feeding group:102, and jejunostomy tube feeding group:98). The serum albumin and body weights were compared among the three groups be-fore operation and four days after operation. The postoperative recovery time of the first exhaust time and hospitalization days were al-so compared. The fistula of esophageal anastomosis, pulmonary infection, and complications from intubation such as throat inflamma-tion were also compared. Results:No postoperation mortality occurred in the three groups. In addition, no significant difference was ob-served between the nasojejunal tube group and jejunostomy group for the first exhaust time and hospitalization days. The recovery of the early oral feeding group was significantly faster than the other two groups. Postoperative acute dilatation of the stomach and func-tional delayed gastric emptying were not found in the three groups. The anastomotic leakage and pulmonary infection rate had no signif-icant difference. The throat inflammation from intubation in the nasojejunal tube feeding group was significantly more than that in the jejunostomy tube feeding group. Eleven percent of the patients removed the tube by themselves. In the jejunostomy tube feeding group, five patients suffered from postoperative fistula drainage, including one case with serious symptoms. Five patients had incomplete ileus. Conclusion:Early oral feeding is a suitable nutritional support route after thoracolapascopic esophagectomy and it is a good way to re-duce operation stress, improve patient compliance, induce fast recovery, and shorten hospitalization days.

Objective:To investigate the application value of computed tomography (CT) examination of lymph node short diameter in evaluating left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 628 patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were admitted to 2 medical centers (236 cases in the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and 392 cases in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University) from October 2009 to December 2016 were collected. There were 462 males and 166 females, aged from 38 to 85 years, with a median age of 62 years. Observation indicators: (1) operation status, dissection and metastasis of left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node; (2) efficacy of CT examination of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node short diameter in evaluating postoperative lymph node metastasis; (3) determination of the optimal cut-off value; (4) examination results using different diagnostic criteria. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M (range). Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages. The area under curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to estimate the efficiency of detection methods. The maximum value of Youden index corresponded to the optimal cut-off point. Results:(1) Operation status, dissection and metastasis of left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node: among the 628 patients, there were 572 cases undergoing two-field lymph node dissection while 56 cases undergoing three-field lymph node dissection, there were 408 cases undergoing minimally invasive surgery while 220 cases undergoing open surgery. Sixty of 628 patients had left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis. A total of 1 666 left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph nodes were dissected from the 628 patients, among which 75 were metastatic lymph nodes, with a metastasis rate of 4.502%(75/1 666). (2) Efficacy of CT examination of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node short diameter in evaluating postoperative lymph node metastasis: the AUC of CT examination of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node short diameter in predicting postoperative lymph node metastasis was 0.854 (95% confidence interval as 0.792 to 0.916, P<0.05). (3) Determination of the optimal cut-off value: the Youden indices were 0.556, 0.384, 0.258, 0.063 and 0.003 respectively when using 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm or 10 mm as the optimal cut-off value for CT examination of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node short diameter. The short diameter as 5 mm was the optimal cut-off value for CT examination of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node short diameter. (4) Examination results using different diagnostic criteria: the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, cases being missed diagnosis were respectively 66.3%, 92.3%, 89.5%, 46.3%, 96.0%, 20 and 5.0%, 99.8%, 90.7%, 75.0%, 90.9%, 57 when using short diameter ≥5 mm or ≥10 mm in CT examination of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node as the diagnostic criteria for left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Conclusions:CT examination of lymph node short diameter can be used to evaluate left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy is preferable when using short diameter ≥5 mm in CT examina-tion of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node as the diagnostic criteria for left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUNDTo investigate pathologically the characteristics of proximal bronchial invasion of lung cancer, and to provide the theoretic basis for the selection of a proper operation mode.

METHODSA total of 398 patients with lung carcinoma underwent radical pulmonectomy and systematic lymphadenectomy. The proximal bronchi and the hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes of their operatively resected specimens were selected for pathological study.

RESULTS(1)The direct invasion of cancerous cells through mucous, submucous or multiple layers was the most frequent way during lung cancer spread, rating 9.3%, 21.8% and 68.9% respectively. 96.4% of the cancerous invasion occurred at the proximal bronchial wall less than 1.5 cm apart from the cancer margin. The extension of invasion correlated with the histopathologic type of cancer, mode of invasion and TNM classification. (2)The cancer infiltration by the nodes metastasizing into the bronchus wall (bronchial external tunica or cartilage) was also an important way for the cancer to spread, especially in adenocarcinoma. The poor differentiated adenocarcinoma has significantly higher metastatic rate and infiltration rate than the well differentiated ( P < 0.01, P < 0.01). There were 22 such cases, including 3 of lobar bronchus wall invaded by N1 metastasis and 19 of main bronchus wall by N2 metastasis.

CONCLUSIONSFor radical removal of tumor, the key point for selecting a rational operation mode is to keep a distance of 1.5 cm or more between the excision margin of the bronchus and the tumor, to pay attention to the bronchial wall invasion caused by the metastatic lymph nodes, even in peripheral adenocarcinoma, and to dissect extensively and completely the lymph nodes of the hilar and upper and lower mediastinum at the homolateral thoracic cavity.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility of no nasogastric intubation and early oral feeding at will after thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy for patients with esophageal cancer.

METHODSBetween January 2013 and January 2014, the feasibility of no nasogastric intubation and early oral feeding at postoperative day(POD) 1 after thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy was prospectively investigated in 156 patients (trial group) with esophageal cancer in the Henan Cancer Hospital. One hundred and sixty patients previously managed in the same unit who were treated routinely after thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy were served as control group.

RESULTSOf 156 patients of trial group, 6(3.8%) patients could not take food early as planned because of postoperative complications. The overall complication rate in trial group was 19.2%(30/156), which was 25.0%(30/160) in control group (P=0.217). The anastomotic leakage in trial group and control group was 2.6%(4/156) and 4.3%(7/160) respectively (P=0.380). Compared with control group, time to first flatus [(2.1±0.9) d vs. (3.3±1.1) d, P<0.001], bowel movement [(4.4±1.3) d vs. (6.6±1.0) d, P<0.001] and postoperative hospital stay [(8.3±3.2) d vs. (10.4±3.6) d, P<0.001] were significantly shorter in trial group.

CONCLUSIONSNo nasogastric intubation and early oral feeding postoperatively in patients with thoracolaparoscopic esophagectomy is feasible and safe. This management can shorten postoperative hospital stay and fasten postoperative bowel function recovery.

Eating ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; surgery ; Esophagectomy ; Fasting ; Feasibility Studies ; Humans ; Intubation, Gastrointestinal ; Postoperative Complications ; Postoperative Period

OBJECTIVEWe analyzed the lymph node (MLNs) metastasis of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) to explore the patterns of lymphatic spread and the rational surgical procedure and extent of lymph node dissection for ESCC.

METHODSWe retrospectively evaluated 313 consecutive patients treated in our hospital between January 2010 and May 2014 who underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for ESCC. The information of lymph node status was obtained and the features of lymph node metastasis were analyzed.

RESULTSOf the 313 cases, 122 (39.0%) were found to have lymph node metastasis. In the 4461 dissected lymph nodes, metastasis was identified in 294 (6.6%) lymph nodes. The recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph nodes were the most frequent metastatic nodes with a metastasis rate of 25.2%, followed by the paracardiac and left gastric artery lymph nodes (18.2%). Chi-square test showed that the lymph node metastasis is associated with tumor invasion and tumor differentiation (P<0.001 for both). Metastases were more frequently found in the recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph nodes in patients with tumors in the upper third esophagus and with histologically poor differentiation (P<0.05 for both). The metastasis rate of para-cardiac and left gastric artery lymph nodes was associated with tumor in the lower third of esophagus, T stage and differentiation (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that tumor differentiation and location are independent factors affecting the metastasis of recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph nodes (P<0.05 for all). T stage, tumor differentiation and location were independent factors associated with metastasis of para-cardiac and left gastric artery lymph nodes (P<0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONS(1) Metastases of thoracic esophageal carcinoma are often found in the recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph nodes, para-cardiac and left gastric artery lymph nodes. (2) Extensive lymph node dissection should be performed for ESCC with poor differentiation and deep tumor invasion.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; secondary ; surgery ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Esophagectomy ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Lymphatic Vessels ; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve ; Retrospective Studies

Objective    To investigate the learning curve of non-tube and early oral feeding procedure following McKeown minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE). Methods    We analyzed the clinical data of 38 patients (26 males, 12 females, aged 42–79 years) with esophageal cancer who received non-tube and early oral feeding procedure after surgery at the Affiliated Tumor Hospital, Zhengzhou University from November 2017 to August 2018. They suffered upper thoracic esophageal cancer (n=4), middle thoracic esophageal cancer (n=22) or lower thoracic esophageal cancer (n=12). Results    McKeown MIE was successfully performed on 38 patients. Oral feeding began 1.7 (1-4) days after surgery in the 38 patients with non-tube. Pneumonia/atelectasis occurred in 5 patients (13.1%), respiratory failure in 1 patient (2.6%), arrhythmia in 3 patients (7.9%), hoarseness in 5 patients (13.1%), anastomotic fistula in 1 patient (2.6%), cervical incision infection in 1 patient (2.6%), pneumomediastinum and infection in 1 patient (2.6%) and gastric emptying disorder in 2 patients (5.2%). No death was observed. After 26 patients with McKeown MIE were treated with enhanced recovery after surgery procedure, the operation time and complications could reach a relatively stable state and entered a plateau phase of learning curve. Conclusion    Non-tube and early oral feeding procedure following MIE is technically safe and feasible. It can shorten hospital stay, relieve the discomfort of placement of nasogastric and nutrition tube and may reduce the incidence of complications. The learning curve of non-tube and early oral feeding procedure following MIE is  about 26 cases.