Robotic-assisted McKeown esophagectomy

Over the last few decades, minimally invasive approaches have gained in popularity for the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer, with the hopes of reducing the morbidity and mortality of this formidable procedure. The traditional McKeown approach includes thoracic esophageal dissection, abdominal mobilization of the gastric conduit and a cervical anastomosis. It presents several advantages over the Ivor Lewis approach: it is suitable for proximal tumors, allows a 3-field lymph node dissection, and avoids the morbidity associated with an intra-thoracic anastomotic leak. Here, we discuss the technical aspects of robotic-assisted minimally invasive McKeown esophagectomy (McKeown RAMIE).