Abstract
Fourty nine patients out of 127 esophageal cancer were managed surgically from January 1986 to December 1991, at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Jeonbuk National University Hospital. Most frequent preoperative symptom was dysphagia and its mean duration was 3.1 months. In histopathologic examination, squamous cell carcinomas were 44 cases [89.8% , and adenocarcinomas 5 [10.2% . The tumor location were the upper esophagus in 6.1%, middle esophagus in 57.2%, lower and cardiac portion of stomach in 36.7%. Involved and metastatic organs, which were detected perioperatively, were celiac lymph nodes in 6 cases, aorta 2, stomach 2, pericardium 2, cervical lymph node 1. The esophagus was resected radically, and the procedures for esophageal replacement were performed with esophagogastrostomy in 45 cases, esophagocologastrostomy 3, and esophagojejunostomy 1. Postoperative complications occurred in 16 cases [hospital morbidity = 32.6% ,anastomotic leak 3, anastomotic stricture 2, respiratory insufficiency 2, hemoperitoneum 1, chylothorax 1, intussusception 1, empyema 1, non-A,non-B hepatitis 1, and mediastinitis 1. Hospital deaths were experienced 3 cases [ hospital mortality = 6.1% . The 6 month, one, two, and five year actuarial survival rates were 85.7%, 71.4%, 57.1%, and 27.9%, respectively. One year survival rates of stages were 100% in stage I, 90.9% in stage IIa, 63.6% in stage IIb, 25.0% in stage III, and 7.2% in stage IV.