The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 76, 643-654, Copyright © 1978 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Esophagectomy without thoracotomy
MB Orringer and H Sloan
Blunt esophagectomy without thoracotomy has been performed in 26 patients:
four with benign disease and 22 with carcinomas involving various levels of
the esophagus (10 cervicothoracic, one upper third, five middle third, and
six distal third). Continuity of the alimentary tract was restored by
anastomosing the pharynx or cervical esophagus either to stomach (19
patients) or to a colonic graft (seven patients). Esophageal resection and
reconstruction were performed in a single stage in 25 patients, and the
esophageal substitute was positioned in the posterior mediastinum in the
original esophageal bed in 24 patients. There were no deaths directly
related to the technique of blunt esophagectomy. Average intraoperative
blood loss was 1,350 ml. for the entire group, 1,650 ml. for those
requiring concomitant laryngectomy and 1,050 ml. for those undergoing
esophagectomy without laryngectomy. Complications in these patients
included pneumothorax (eight), transient hoarseness (five), pleural
effusion (five), anastomotic leak (four), subphrenic abscess (one), and
cerebrovascular accident (one). The five deaths were due to pheumonia
(two), innominate artery rupture (two), and pulmonary embolus (one). Blunt
esophagectomy without thoracotomy is safe and is far better tolerated
physiologically than the combined transthoracic and abdominal operations
more traditionally used for exophageal resection and reconstruction.