Minimally Invasive Therapy for Benign Tumors of the Distal Third of the Esophagus—A Single Institute's Experience

Abstract

Traditionally, the treatment of benign esophageal tumors is enucleation achieved via a thoracotomy. Since 1992, many reports of thoracoscopic and laparoscopic approaches have been published. In this paper, we present a retrospective study of 18 patients with benign distal esophageal tumors who underwent minimally invasive procedures. A total of 18 patients were treated in our institute form 1994 to 2006. Tumors of the middle third were approached thoracoscopically, and laparoscopic transhiatal enucleation was performed for tumors of the lower third. One patient had associated achalasia cardia, for which a cardiomyotomy with Toupet fundoplication was also performed, and another patient underwent an esophagectomy for a large tumor. There were 12 males and 6 females and the average age was 59 years. The majority of the tumors were in the lower third, and the most common type of tumor was leiomyoma. Postoperative complications were recorded. Leiomyomas are the most common benign tumors and are located frequently in the middle and lower third. Based on our experience, we feel that lower esophageal tumors are best approached by a laparoscopic transhiatal route and midesophageal tumors by a right thoracoscopic approach. Minimally invasive surgery for benign esophageal tumors is ideal, reducing the morbidity of conventional methods.