Centralisation of oesophageal cancer services: experiences and outcomes of the first year of implementation at a Belgian non-academic teachinghospital

Introduction Oesophageal surgery recently became centralised in Belgium. This study aims to evaluate surgical outcomes and service delivered one year after implementation of centralisation. Patients and methods All patients undergoing an oesophagectomy between the start of the centralisation; 1st of June 2019 and 31st of May 2020, were included from a prospectively maintained database. Results 53 patients (41 male, 12 female) underwent an oesophagectomy during the study period. Most oesophagectomies were performed through an open left thoracoabdominal approach (64.2%), 30.2% via a minimally invasive approach and hybrid approaches were carried out in 5.7% of patients. In this study population, the 30 day mortality rate was 0% and the 90 day mortality rate was 3.8%, equating to 2 deaths. The overall 30 day readmission rate was 7.5%. Clinically significant anastomotic leaks occurred in 4 patients, (7.5%). Pneumonia and atrial fibrillation were the most frequent complications, both having a prevalence of 32.1%. The median length of stay was 11 days (IQR 9.5-14.5). Conclusion The results from our centre are comparable to those from international registers which demonstrate that centralisation of complex cancer services can be safely implemented.