Abstract: Objective To explore the feasibility and safety of Mckeown-type minimally invasive esophagectomy in para-recurrent laryngeal nerve lymphadenectomy. Methods A total of 163 cases underwent minimally invasive McKeown resection for esophageal carcinoma in the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into routine treatment group (n=63), right recurrent nerve lymph node dissection group (right group, n=53) and bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node dissection group (bilateral group, n=47) according to the operation modes. The postoperative pathology, operation time, intraoperative bleeding volume, postoperative hospitalization time, number of lymph nodes and pneumonia, anastomotic fistula, laryngeal nerve injury and other complications were compared between three groups of patients. Pathological conditions were consisted of the location of tumor, the degree of differentiation, T stage and pathological stage. Postoperative complications were followed up for 6 months. Results There were no significant differences in tumor location, pathological differentiation degree, T stage and pathologic stage between three groups. The amount of bleeding was more in the routine group than that of the right group and the bilateral group (P＜ 0.05). There was no significant difference in the amount of bleeding between the right group and the bilateral group. The total lymph nodes and thoracic lymph nodes were increased in order in routine group, the right group and the bilateral group, and there was significant difference between three groups(P＜ 0.05). There were no significant differences in other operation data and complications between three groups. Conclusion McKeown- type minimally invasive esophagectomy shows good feasibility and safety for para-recurrent laryngeal nerve lymphadenectomy .

Key words: esophageal neoplasms, surgical procedures, minimally invasive, recurrent laryngeal nerve, lymphadenectomy, Mckeown-type minimally invasive esophagectomy