Surgical treatment of hypopharynx and cervical esophageal cancer; A case series.

Objective Carcinomas of the hypopharynx and cervical esophagus which require aggressive surgery are usually not diagnosed until they have reached an advanced stage. Aggressive surgery can lead to loss of functions and a high morbidity and mortality. Methods In this study,the patients with hypopharynx and cervical esophagus tumors were evaluated and their clinical findings and treatment methods,complications of surgical procedure and long term follow up results were evaluated retrospectively. Results We report on a series of 13 patients who underwent pharyngo-laryngo-esophagectomy and bilateral neck dissection over 8 years. Postoperative mortality was seen in 2 patients (15-3%).The mean duration of hospitalization was 15 days. The most common postoperative complications were found to be hypoparathyroidism and pulmonary infections. Conclusion At present, surgery seems to be the appropriate therapeutic choice for the majority of patients with hypopharyngeal carcinoma,providing a definitive palliation of dysphagia and relatively good long-term survival. Hypopharyngeal carcinomas which require aggressive surgery are usually have a high morbidity and mortality. We prefer,after pharyngo-laryngo-esophagectomy, reconstructive method of choice is gastric pull-up and the colon is used only when stomach tissue is not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]