A Case of Cancer of the Thoracic Esophagus Associated with a Tracheal Diverticulum

Abstract

A 63-year-old man who visited a neighboring hospital because of a sensation of food sticking in his throat and was diagnosed with thoracic esophageal cancer was referred to our hospital. The preoperative diagnosis was MtLt, T3N2M0, Stage III. After two courses of adjuvant chemotherapy, subtotal esophagectomy and gastric tube reconstruction were performed by right thoracotomy and laparotomy. During the operation, a diverticulum was detected on the right side of the trachea. The presence of the tracheal diverticulum demanded special attention in performing tracheal intubation, detachment of the esophagus from the trachea, and lymph nodes dissection, but we finished the operation uneventfully. No cases of esophageal cancer with a tracheal diverticulum have been reported in Japan. This case is reported here, because we consider the case report to be meaningful in terms of providing beneficial information for surgeons to perform safe surgery for esophageal cancer.