Comparison of influence of esophageal carcinoma operations on pulmonary function.

OBJECTIVE: To study the change of pulmonary function after three kinds of esophageal carcinoma operations. METHODS: Esophageal carcinoma operations were performed on 60 consecutive patients, including 20 cases of supra-aortic gastro-esophageal anastomosis, 20 cases of sub-aortic gastro-esophageal anastomosis and 20 cases of apico-thoracic retro-aortic gastro-esophageal anastomosis. Lung function was checked for every patient 3 days before the operation and 3, 6, 12 months after the operation. RESULTS: VC%, FEV1% and MVV% are significantly lower in supra-aortic anastomosis group than in sub-aortic anastomosis group after the operation (P < 0.05). VC%, FEV1%, and MVV% are significantly lower in supra-aortic anastomosis group than in apico-thoracic retro-aortic anastomosis group after the operation (P<0.05). VC%, FEV1% and MVV% are not significantly different between apico-thoracic retro-aortic anastomosis group and sub-aortic anastomosis group after the operation (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Supra-aortic anastomosis has more negative influence on the post-operative pulmonary function than apico-thoracic retro-aortic anastomosis and sub-aortic anastomosis do.