Three-Month and Three-Year Survival Rates and Complications of Transthoracic Surgery in Patients with Esophageal Cancer at Shahid Modarres Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

Background: Nowadays, esophageal cancer is among the most malignant cancers with high mortality and morbidity. Although reasonable progress in radiotherapy and chemotherapy has been made, still esophagectomy is the main treatment for the disease. Using esophagectomy induces a durable palliation and provides possible cure. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the three-month and three-year survival rates and complications of transthoracic surgery in patients with esophageal cancer. Methods: In a longitudinal case series study was performed in three years, 34 patients with esophagus cancer, operated using trans-thoracic approach were assessed for short- and long-term survival rates and complications. Results: Immediately after the surgery, anastomotic leakage was seen in 17.6% and vocal cord paresis in 26.6% of cases; in next days, the vocal cord paresis decreased to 11.8%. Hospital mortality rate was 20.6% and the rate of malignancy recurrence in long-term follow-up was 8.8%. Long-term morality rate was 39.0%. There was microscopic residue in 20.5% and macroscopic residue in 6.0% of the patients. Three-month and three-year survival rates were 76% and 61%, respectively. Conclusions: The achieved three-month and three-year survival rate were reasonable in comparison to other studies. Although the rate of vocal cord paresis after the surgery was about two times more than previous studies, most of the cases were temporary paresis and resolved in coming days.