This guest blog was written by Mark K. Ferguson, MD. Mark and I were colleagues at the University of Chicago where Adams and Phemister performed the first transthoracic esophagectomy with reconstruction. He has led the Thoracic Surgery division for many years and is an accomplished esophageal surgeon. ~ The average Read More
Tag: esophageal surgery
Considerations in choosing a surgeon. Operations for esophageal cancer are performed by general thoracic surgeons like me (so you know my prejudice), surgical oncologists and general surgeons. Who should operate on you? Appropriate considerations will resemble my previous thoughts for lung cancer surgery. The experience the surgeon had in Read More
What is the goal of an esophagectomy? The answer may seem obvious, but it was not always so. As recently as when I began my practice in the early 1980s the hoped-for outcome was that the patient’s dysphagia would be relieved. Cure of the cancer was a welcome result but Read More
Progress is made. Despite Torek’s “successful” esophagectomy discussed in the previous blog, few such operations were subsequently performed. In 1933 the British surgeon Grey-Turner introduced an alternative technique for esophagectomy. He made incisions in the neck and abdomen and, sliding his hands down and up respectively, freed and removed the Read More
A challenge for surgeons. The esophagus starts in the neck, traverses the chest, and ends in the abdomen where it enters the stomach. Surgeons may need to enter up to all three anatomic areas to perform an adequate cancer operation. In addition, the esophagus is in close proximity to the Read More
As discussed in my previous blog, chest operations became feasible in the 20th century once the abilities to induce a state of general anesthesia and to use positive pressure endotracheal ventilation of the lungs were in place. In the USA these procedures were performed by General Surgeons. In fact, that Read More
