Abstract
A total of 17 patients with hypopharyngeal and cervical esophageal carcinoma were treated at the Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Science (SUMS) Memorial Hospital, China from 1992 to 1996. According to the UICC classification (1987), 15 of the cases were advanced cases at either stage III or stage IV. Before operation, 10 cases (59%) were confirmed to have cervical lymph node metastasis. A total of 17 cases underwent a radical operation and primary reconstruction for lesions of the hypopharyngoesophagus using the residual mucosa (2 cases), forearm flap (1 case), vastus lateralis flap (2 cases), jejunal graft (1 case) and gastric tube (11 cases). A unilateral neck dissection and thyroidectomy were performed with the excision of the carcinoma in 11 cases and 5 cases, respectively. All patients received postoperative radiotherapy. In 17 patients, 10 cases (59%) survived, 6 cases (35%) died of carcinoma and 1 case (5.9%) died due to postoperative complication. In those who survived, the follow-up time after operation ranged from 14 to 62 months. The one-year, two-year and three-year survival rates were 88 % (15/17), 73% (8/11) and 60% (3/5), respectively. The long-term survival rate has yet to be determined and shoud be carefully observed in the followed up.
