Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Comparing outcomes after transthoracic and transhiatal esophagectomy: a 5-year prospective cohort of 17,395 patients.
Debate continues over whether transhiatal esophagectomy (THE) offers decreased morbidity and mortality compared with transthoracic esophagectomy (TTE). To definitively answer this question, we used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database to compare morbidity and mortality after THE and TTE. ⋯ This large-volume, multicenter study constitutes the largest cohort in the literature to compare outcomes after THE and TTE. These findings indicate the outcomes after THE and TTE for esophageal disease are equivalent, although higher-volume centers will have lower morbidity and mortality.