Abstract
A 73-year-old man complained of a sense of chest constriction. Esophageal carcinoma was diagnosed by esophagoscopy. Preoperative 3D-CT revealed an aberrant right subclavian artery (ARSA) and suggested the presence of a nonrecurrent inferior laryngeal nerve (NRILN). We performed prone thoracoscopic esophagectomy and identified the ARSA as arising from the aortic arch and ascending through the right side of the esophagus. The right recurrent nerve was not identified around the right vague nerve during mediastinal lymphadenectomy. Then during cervical lymphadenectomy, we identified the NRILN, arising from the right vagus nerve and innervating the larynx directly. Though NRILN is a relatively rare congenital anomaly caused by ARSA, we must take into consideration these anatomical anomalies and perform lymph node dissection carefully when a NRILN is suspected preoperatively. This is the first report of prone thoracoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma with NRILN.
