fig3

Figure 3. Lymph node dissection around the left RLN with the conventional technique. A: after dissecting the ventral and dorsal sides of the tissues which include the RLN, we divided the esophagus at the level of the aortic arch and drew the upper side of esophagus to the right to expand the operative field; B: the adipose tissue containing lymph nodes was resected while preserving the left RLN. Traction of the esophagus could flex the nerve or cause compression at the corner of the trachea. ESO: esophagus; TR: trachea; RLN: recurrent laryngeal nerve