A Surgical Concept for the Subcarinal Anatomy of the Esophagus and Mediastinum

There are two important Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy approaches, the three-stage McKeown procedure with cervical anastomosis and the two-stage Ivor Lewis procedure with intrathoracic anastomosis. To perform these procedures, a profound knowledge of the surgical anatomy of the mediastinum and esophagus is paramount. Subcarinal anatomy of esophagus is in many aspects different from the supracarinal anatomy with important implications for the dissection of distal esophageal and Gastroesophageal Junction tumors. In this chapter the subcarinal anatomy is depicted.