Project description:Minimally invasive esophagectomy is increasingly performed for the treatment of esophageal cancer, but it is unclear whether hybrid minimally invasive esophagectomy (HMIE) or totally minimally invasive esophagectomy (TMIE) should be preferred. The objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of studies comparing HMIE with TMIE. A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Articles comparing HMIE and TMIE were included. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used for critical appraisal of methodological quality. The primary outcome was pneumonia. Sensitivity analysis was performed by analyzing outcome for open chest hybrid MIE versus total TMIE and open abdomen MIE versus TMIE separately. Therefore, subgroup analysis was performed for laparoscopy-assisted HMIE versus TMIE, thoracoscopy-assisted HMIE versus TMIE, Ivor Lewis HMIE versus Ivor Lewis TMIE, and McKeown HMIE versus McKeown TMIE. There were no randomized controlled trials. Twenty-nine studies with a total of 3732 patients were included. Studies had a low to moderate risk of bias. In the main analysis, the pooled incidence of pneumonia was 19.0% after HMIE and 9.8% after TMIE which was not significantly different between the groups (RR: 1.46, 95% CI: 0.97-2.20). TMIE was associated with a lower incidence of wound infections (RR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.13-2.90) and less blood loss (SMD: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.34-1.22) but with longer operative time (SMD:-0.33, 95% CI: -0.59--0.08). In subgroup analysis, laparoscopy-assisted HMIE was associated with a higher lymph node count than TMIE, and Ivor Lewis HMIE was associated with a lower anastomotic leakage rate than Ivor Lewis TMIE. In general, TMIE was associated with moderately lower morbidity compared to HMIE, but randomized controlled evidence is lacking. The higher leakage rate and lower lymph node count that was found after TMIE in sensitivity analysis indicate that TMIE can also have disadvantages. The findings of this meta-analysis should be considered carefully by surgeons when moving from HMIE to TMIE.
Project description:Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) is an extremely rare congenital condition where one or more of the pulmonary veins are connected to the venous circulation. Although initially suspected with unexplained right ventricular enlargement on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), cardiac MRI is able to delineate the anatomical variant. We present a case of a 65-year-old male diagnosed with left sided PAPVC using multimodality cardiac imaging.
Project description:Tracheobronchial injury (TBI) is an uncommon but potentially fatal event. Iatrogenic lesions during bronchoscopy, endotracheal intubation, or thoracic surgery are considered the most common causes of TBI. When TBI is detected during surgery, concomitant surgical treatment is recommended. Herein we present a case of successful robotic primary repair of iatrogenic tracheal and left bronchial branch tears during a robot-assisted hybrid 3-stage esophagectomy after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. A robotic approach can facilitate the repair of this injury while reducing both the potential risk of conversion to open surgery and the associated increased risk of postoperative respiratory complications.
Project description:Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) was first introduced in the 1990s. Currently, it is a widely accepted surgical approach for the treatment of esophageal cancer, as it is an oncologically sound procedure; its advantages when compared to open procedures, including reduction in postoperative complications, reduction in the length of hospital stay, and improvement in quality of life, are well documented. However, debates are still ongoing about the safety and efficacy of MIE. The present review focuses on some of the current issues related to conventional MIE and robot-assisted MIE based on evidence from the current literature.
Project description:BackgroundOpen transthoracic esophagectomy is the worldwide gold standard in the treatment of resectable esophageal cancer. Robot-assisted minimally invasive thoraco-laparoscopic esophagectomy (RAMIE) for esophageal cancer may be associated with reduced blood loss, shorter intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and less cardiopulmonary morbidity; however, long-term oncologic results have not been reported to date.MethodsBetween June 2007 and September 2011, a total of 108 patients with potentially resectable esophageal cancer underwent RAMIE at the University Medical Centre Utrecht, with curative intent. All data were recorded prospectively.ResultsMedian duration of the surgical procedure was 381 min (range 264-636). Pulmonary complications were most common and were observed in 36 patients (33 %). Median ICU stay was 1 day, and median overall postoperative hospital stay was 16 days. In-hospital mortality was 5 %. The majority of patients (78 %) presented with T3 and T4 disease, and 68 % of patients had nodal-positive disease (cN1-3). In 65 % of patients, neoadjuvant treatment (chemotherapy 57 %, chemoradiotherapy 7 %, radiotherapy 1 %) was administered, and in 103 (95 %) patients, a radical resection (R0) was achieved. The median number of lymph nodes was 26, median follow-up was 58 months, 5-year overall survival was 42 %, median disease-free survival was 21 months, and median overall survival was 29 months. Tumor recurrence occurred in 51 patients and was locoregional only in 6 (6 %) patients, systemic only in 31 (30 %) patients, and combined in 14 (14 %) patients.ConclusionRAMIE was shown to be oncologically effective, with a high percentage of R0 radical resections and adequate lymphadenectomy. RAMIE provided good local control with a low percentage of local recurrence at long-term follow up.
Project description:BackgroundThis study aimed to assess the feasibility, efficacy and safety of McKeown surgery with vagal-sparing using minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE).MethodsMcKeown surgery with vagal-sparing technique using MIE was adopted on patients diagnosed with resectable esophageal cancer. From June 2020 to January 2021, a total of 20 patients from the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the National Clinical Research Center for Cancer were enrolled.ResultsThe study group included 17 (85%) males and 3 (15%) females, with an average age of 62.6 (±7.1) years. The most common tumor location was lower thoracic esophagus (n=9, 45%), followed by middle thoracic esophagus (n=8, 40%) and upper thoracic esophagus (n=3, 15%). Nine (45%) patients had T1b disease, followed by T2 (n=8, 40%), T1a (n=2, 10%), and Tis (n=1, 5%). The average operation time was 221.5 (±61.2) minutes. Postoperative complications were as follow: 2 (10%) with hoarseness, 2 (10%) with pulmonary infection, 1 (5%) with arrhythmia, 1 (5%) with anastomotic leakage, 1 (5%) with delayed gastric emptying, 1 (5%) with pleural effusion, and 1 (5%) with diarrhea. Dumping syndrome, cholestasis, and chylothorax were not observed, and there was no perioperative death.ConclusionsMIE with vagus nerve preservation is a feasible and safe technique, with the possibility to be an alternative for esophageal carcinoma. Further study is needed to explore the functional outcome of preserving vagus nerve.
Project description:BackgroundWhether patients can benefit from three-field lymphadenectomy (3-FL) in minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) remains unclear. This study retrospectively compared short-term outcomes between 3-FL and two-field lymphadenectomy (2-FL) in MIE for patients with esophageal cancer (EC) and aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of 3-FL.MethodsThere were 284 patients enrolled in the study (124 patients with 3-FL and 160 patients with 2-FL). The cases were matched based on their propensity scores using a matching ratio of 1:1, the nearest neighbor matching protocol, and a caliper of 0.02. Patients were propensity-score matched for sex, cancer location, Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (ACCI), and neoadjuvant treatment. The short-term outcomes were postoperative complications, operation characteristics, pathology results and postoperative hospital stay.ResultsThere were no significant differences in intraoperative hemorrhage, postoperative hospital stay, or postoperative complications between the 2-FL and 3-FL groups. The operation time of the two groups was significantly different (227.1±46.2 vs. 248.5±45.9 min, P=0.001); the operation time of the 3-FL group was about 20 minutes longer than that of the 2-FL group. The number of lymphatic nodes (LNs) obtained in the 3-FL group was significantly higher than that in the 2-FL group (31.3±12.9 vs. 54.6±18.0, P<0.001). Pathological N stage was also significantly different (P=0.002); the 3-FL group was more advanced than the 2-FL group.ConclusionsCompared to 2-FL MIE, 3-FL MIE does not increase postoperative complications, can obtain more LNs, and improves the accuracy of tumor LN staging.
Project description:Background Adequate pain control after open esophagectomy is associated with reduced complications, earlier recovery and higher patient satisfaction. While further developing surgical procedures like robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) it is relevant to adapt postoperative pain management. The primary question of this observational survey was whether one of the two standard treatments, thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) or intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), is superior for pain control after RAMIE as the optimal pain management for these patients still remains unclear. Use of additional analgesics, changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), postoperative complications and duration of intensive care and hospital stay were also analyzed. Methods This prospective observational pilot study analyzed 50 patients undergoing RAMIE (postoperative PCA with piritramide or TEA using bupivacaine; each n = 25). Patient reported pain using the numeric rating scale score and differences in FEV1 using a micro spirometer were measured at postoperative day 1, 3 and 7. Additional data of secondary endpoints were collected from patient charts. Results Key demographics, comorbidity, clinical and operative variables were equivalently distributed. Patients receiving TEA had lower pain scores and a longer-lasting pain relief. Moreover, TEA was an independent predictive variable for reduced length of hospital stay (HR -3.560 (95% CI: −6.838 to −0.282), p = 0.034). Conclusions Although RAMIE leads to reduced surgical trauma, a less invasive pain therapy with PCA appears to be inferior compared to TEA in case of sufficient postoperative analgesia and length of hospital stay. According to the results of this observational pilot study analgesia with TEA provided better and longer-lasting pain relief compared to PCA. Further randomized controlled trials should be conducted to evaluate the optimal postoperative analgesic treatment for RAMIE.
Project description:Over the past decades, survival rates for patients with resectable esophageal cancer have improved significantly. Consequently, the sequelae of having a gastric conduit, such as development of micronutrient deficiencies, become increasingly apparent. This study investigated postoperative micronutrient trends in the follow-up of patients following a minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for cancer. Patients were included if they had at least one postoperative evaluation of iron, ferritin, vitamins B1, B6, B12, D, folate or methylmalonic acid. Data were available in 83 of 95 patients. Of these, 78.3% (65/83) had at least one and 37.3% (31/83) had more than one micronutrient deficiency at a median of 6.1 months (interquartile range (IQR) 5.4-7.5) of follow-up. Similar to the results found in previous studies, most common deficiencies identified were: iron, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. In addition, folate deficiency and anemia were detected in a substantial amount of patients in this cohort. At 24.8 months (IQR 19.4-33.1) of follow-up, micronutrient deficiencies were still common, however, most deficiencies normalized following supplementation on indication. In conclusion, patients undergoing a MIE are at risk of developing micronutrient deficiencies as early as 6 up to 24 months after surgery and should therefore be routinely checked and supplemented when needed.