Oncological Outcomes after Minimally Invasive Oesophagectomy for Oesophageal Carcinoma: Experience from a High Volume Centre in Pakistan

Objective: To share the experience of minimally invasive oesophagectomy for oesophageal carcinoma in terms of oncological clearance and number of lymph nodes resected in our setup, being one of the high volume centres in country. Study Design: Prospective observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Thoracic surgery, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan 2018 to Dec 2021. Methodology: A total number of 83 patients were included in the study who had a histological diagnosis of carcinoma of oesophagus and underwent minimally invasive oesophagectomy. The resection samples were subjected to histopathological analysis at Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. A Pro forma was designed to record all the demographic information as well as information regarding histological diagnosis, margin clearance, number of lymph nodes retrieved and one-year follow-up analysis. Results: A total of 83 minimally invasive oesophagectomies were performed for carcinoma of oesophagus. Histopathology report confirmed clearance margin and R0 resection in 80 patients (96.38%) while in 3 patients (3.61%) involvement of radial resection margin was found. Lymph nodes were retrieved with a minimum number of 13 and maximum number of 33 lymph nodes. Mean number of lymph nodes retrieved was 22.23+3.68. (Stations of lymph node removed including abdominal nodes). Conclusion: Satisfactory oncological clearance and adequate lymphadenectomy can be performed with minimally invasive oesophagectomy when performed in experienced hands.