Objective: To explore the short-term clinical efficacies of treating esophageal carcinoma surgically by Ivor-Lewis approach so as to summarize the characteristics of lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer and evaluate the safety and effectiveness of surgical treatment of middle and lower esophagus.
Methods: Our hospital started the Ivor-Lewis approach of esophageal cancer from 2005. During the period of 2007 - 2010, a total of 404 patients underwent the Ivor-Lewis approach for esophageal cancer. And the AJCC software was used for the probability statistical analysis.
Results: None of them died. But 89/101 patients (22.0%) had the occurrences of postoperative complications. And while still within the original stage of T1, tumor probably metastasized.
Conclusion: Esophageal cancer has an early tendency of metastasis. Based upon the anatomic locations of metastatic lymph nodes, it is better to predict the prognosis of patients. Thus the combined regimen of Ivor-Lewis surgery plus two-field lymphadenectomy is both safe and efficacious for esophageal carcinoma in the middle and lower segments.