Background: Management of cervical esophageal tumor postesophagectomy is mainly palliative because of inadequate exposure of tumor in the cervicothoracic region. In this study, we propose a means of cure for these patients.
Methods: Between January 2003 and June 2013, 6 patients underwent curative pharyngolaryngectomy and completion cervical esophagectomy via manubrial resection. Operative outcomes were analyzed and compared with a historical cohort who received palliative therapy.
Results: One patient required prolonged hospital stay for pneumonia, resulting in a median hospital stay of 30 days (range, 21-55 days). All patients resumed oral feeding at a mean of 15.2 days (range, 14-19 days). Tracheostoma stenosis was noted in 2 patients. One patient developed nodal recurrence, another with distant metastasis, resulting in a median disease-free survival of 13 months (range, 4-20 months). Median overall survival was significantly longer than the cohort group (19.0 vs 3.0 months; p = .013).
Conclusion: Salvage surgery in patients with carcinoma of the cervical esophagus postesophagectomy is feasible with significantly prolonged survival.
Keywords: cervical esophagus; postesophagectomy; recurrence; salvage.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.