A comparison of transhiatal and transthoracic resections on the prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus

The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term prognosis for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus treated either by the transhiatal (TH) or by the transthoracic (TT) operative approach.Two hundred and twenty-nine patients (median age: 56 (29-84) years) with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus underwent esophageal resection between September 1985 and April 2004. In 70 patients, the transhiatal approach and in 159, the transthoracic approach was applied. An extended mediastinal lymph-node dissection was only carried out in the course of the transthoracic technique.Demographic data and tumor stages were comparable in both groups. A significantly better long-term survival was o…