A hybrid of the prone and left lateral decubitus positions for thoracoscopic esophagectomy with extended LN dissection for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
402 Background: We first performed thoracoscopic esophagectomy (TE) as a minimally invasive procedure with the left decubitus position in 1996. In 2009 we developed a hybrid of the prone and left lateral decubitus positions for TE with extended LN dissection (Extensive-TE). The patient is fixed with the semi-prone position and we can easily change patient positions from the left lateral decubitus position to the prone position using rotation system of the operation table. The upper mediastinal procedure including lymphadenectomy along the right and left recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is performed with the patient in the left lateral decubitus position, while the middle and lower mediastinal procedures are performed with the patient in the prone position with artificial pneumothorax. Methods: ESCC patients who underwent Extensive-TE between January 2009 and December 2016, were retrospectively reviewed. The patients’ background, surgical outcomes, postoperative complications and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were studied. Results: Primary tumor was located in Cervical esophagus for 2 (1%), the upper-thoracic esophagus for 28 (15%), the mid-thoracic esophagus for 104 (54%) and the lower-thoracic esophagus for 57 (30%). Thenumber of patients classified with pre-treatment clinical stage of 1/2/3/4 was 94(49%)/42(22%)/46(24%)/9(5%), respectively. Eight patients were evaluated as having cM1 disease due to supraclavicular LN metastasis. The number of patients classified with postoperative pathological stage of 0/1/2/3/4 was 5(3%)/70(37%)/48(26%)/49(27%)/19(7%), respectively. The average total operation time was 542.1 and blood loss was 274.2. The incidence of postoperative pneumonia, anastomotic leakage, chylothorax, and recurrent nerve palsy was 17%, 14%, 2%, and 7% respectively. One patient died postoperatively within 90 days after surgery. Three years RFSwith clinical stage of 1/2/3+4 was 91.5%/54.8%/51.9%, respectively. Conclusions: The magnifying effect of thoracoscopy enables us to perform more precise surgery and preserve nerve and vessels. Extensive-TEwith a hybrid position is thought to be feasible and effective methods.