Original articleGeneral thoracicTwo-Field Lymphadenectomy During Esophagectomy: The Presence of Thoracic Duct Lymph Nodes
Section snippets
Material and Methods
Seven adult fresh-frozen human cadavers (male, n = 3; female, n = 4) without signs of previous thoracic surgery were used for dissection. All cadavers entered the Anatomy Department, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands, through a donation program. Informed consent was obtained during life.
Results
Three male cadavers (43%) and 4 female cadavers (57%) underwent transthoracic esophagolymphadenectomy (step 1) with separate resection of the thoracic duct with the surrounding fatty tissue (step 2).
Comment
This study shows that the fatty tissue surrounding the thoracic duct contains lymph nodes, predominantly located near the arch of the azygos vein. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to give an anatomic description of number and location of TDLN in light of a standardized surgical esophageal resection, making these findings applicable in clinical practice. A study has shown that dissection of the TD and surrounding fatty tissue is feasible with minimally invasive techniques
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2024, European Journal of Surgical OncologyThe Presence of Metastatic Thoracic Duct Lymph Nodes in Western Esophageal Cancer Patients: A Multinational Observational Study
2022, Annals of Thoracic SurgeryCitation Excerpt :The current report demonstrates that extending the standard thoracic lymphadenectomy with resection of the TD compartment is feasible in open as well as robot-assisted minimally invasive esophageal surgery. Standardized steps for TD compartment resection have been described, and the anatomical borders of the TD compartment allow for a clear identification and meticulous dissection.5 Therefore, adding the resection of TD compartment to an existing procedure is relatively straightforward.
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