Surgery is a classic traditional method for the treatment of early-stage esophageal cancer, and it is also recognized as an effective first-choice method in the medical community. With the development of endoscopic technology, esophagus-preserving comprehensive treatment of esophageal cancer has almost the same or even better effects in some aspects in the treatment of early esophageal cancer than surgery. Many clinical guidelines have also recommended it as the first-choice treatment for early esophageal cancer. The room for surgical treatment of esophageal cancer has been further compressed. This article discusses the comprehensive treatment model of esophageal cancer from the perspective of thoracic surgery, aiming to find a new position of thoracic surgery in the treatment of esophageal cancer.

The minimally invasive surgery is the mainstream of the development of surgery, and the transformation of surgery from traditional open surgery to endoscopic surgery has brought great benefits to patients. However, surgeons have never stopped their exploration from porous laparoscopy to single hole or even endoscopic surgery via the natural cavity, and looking for a more minimally invasive way of surgery has always been the pursuit of clinicians. As a minimally invasive technique, single-hole laparoscopy is becoming more and more widely used in clinic, and achievements and difficulties will guide the development direction of further research in the future. This paper reviews the clinical application of single-hole laparoscopy in recent years and the status quo of its development.