Comparison of Postoperative Outcomes Between Near-Infrared Fluorescent Imaging-Guided Mediastinal Lymphadenectomy and Conventional Surgery for Esophageal Cancer

Background. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of using near-infrared fluorescent imaging (NIRF) imaging with indocyanine green as an intraoperative tool for achieving complete mediastinal lymph node (LN) resection. Patients and Methods. Between September 2019 and July 2021, patients with potential for esophagectomy due to middle and lower thoracic esophageal cancer were enrolled in this study. All patients were scheduled for NIRF-guided mediastinal lymphadenectomy during esophageal cancer surgery and were appropriately assigned to the NIRF group. Patients who underwent esophagectomy between September 2017 and September 2019 were assigned to the historical control group upon satisfying the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Surgical outcomes and the number of removed LNs were compared between the two groups using 1:1 propensity score matching. Results. Of 67 eligible patients, 59 patients were included in the NIRF group after postsurgical exclusions. The operative time was significantly shorter in the NIRF group than in the historical control group [180 (140-420) min versus 202 (137-338) min; P<0.001]. The incidence of postoperative chylothorax and hoarseness were significantly lower in the NIRF group than in the historical control group (0% versus 10.2 %; P=0.036, 3.4% versus 13.6%; P=0.047). The number of dissected total LNs, mediastinal LNs, and negative LNs was significantly larger in the NIRF group than in the historical control group. The number of overall metastatic LNs and abdominal LNs was comparable between the two groups. Conclusions. NIRF imaging can assist in the thorough and complete mediastinal LNs dissections without increasing complications in patients undergoing esophagectomy.