Purpose: The surgical, postoperative and oncologic outcomes of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for esophageal cancer were reviewed to clarify the benefits of this surgical modality.
Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using synonyms for minimally invasive or thoracoscopic esophagectomy. There were 18 retrospective cohort studies and 3 meta-analyses retrieved in this review.
Results: There are several minimally invasive approaches for esophageal cancer. Total MIE using both the thoracoscopic and laparoscopic approach is increasingly performed. A longer operative time and less blood loss are observed with MIE in comparison to open esophagectomy (OE). Although the benefit of MIE for reducing morbidity and mortality rates is still under debate, a shorter hospital stay was common among the studies. The oncologic outcomes of MIE were not inferior to OE, while the number of retrieved lymph nodes was greater in MIE than OE in several studies.
Conclusion: Total MIE using a combined thoracoscopic and laparoscopic approach can be performed safely, although the benefits for short-term outcomes are still controversial. Oncologic outcomes are favorable and MIE may have an advantage in lymph node dissection over OE. The benefits of MIE should therefore be confirmed by randomized controlled trials.