Radical Resection of T3N2M0 Esophageal Cancer Under Bilateral Thoracoscopy: A Case Report

Background: Many esophageal cancer patients with lymph node metastases during surgery are recommended for postoperative radiation therapy. However, postoperative radiation could cause many serious adverse reactions. Here, we introduce a new radical operation for esophageal cancer under bilateral thoracoscopy to reduce the adverse reactions of postoperative radiation.Case presentation: A 50-year-old man was diagnosed with Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by gastroscopy. Because the tumor was found to have obvious invasion and rapid pathology showed positive lymph nodes during the operation, which is in line with the postoperative chemotherapy indication, we adopted a bilateral thoracic approach for esophageal cancer to reduce adverse reactions of postoperative radiotherapy. We successfully guided the tubular stomach through the left thoracic aortic arch to the left thoracic cavity, and then performed an esophageal-tubular stomach anastomosis on the left neck under bilateral thoracoscopy to reduce radiation exposure to the remnant stomach. The operation went well.Conclusion: For patients with esophageal cancer who are found to have radiotherapy indications during the operation, bilateral thoracoscopic radical resection of esophageal cancer should be preferred during the operation to improve the postoperative radiotherapy effect.