Abstract
We report a case of superficial esophageal cancer surgically treated by mediastinoscope-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy in an aged man who had undergone left thoracoplasty. An 84-year-old man who had received yearly upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination was admitted to our hospital with a diagnosis of superficial esophageal cancer infiltrated into the submucosa. He had been performed left thoracoplasty in his youth, and he had restrictive impairment in preoperative respiratory function test. We performed mediastinoscope-assisted transhiatal esophagectomy for superficial esophageal cancer in clinical stage I. The surgical space in the mediastinum had been narrowed because of the thoracoplasty, but esophagectomy could be performed safely and successfully, though we had a hard time with dissecton of the esophagus.
