REFERENCES
1. Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P. Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin 2005;55:74-108.
2. Akiyama H, Tsurumaru M, Kawamura T, Ono Y. Principles of surgical treatment for carcinoma of the esophagus: analysis of lymph node involvement. Ann Surg 1981;194:438-46.
3. Cuschieri A, Shimi S, Banting S. Endoscopic oesophagectomy through a right thoracoscopic approach. J R Coll Surg Edinb 1992;37:7-11.
4. Akaishi T, Kaneda I, Higuchi N, Kuriya Y, Kuramoto J, et al. Thoracoscopic en bloc total esophagectomy with radical mediastinal lymphadenectomy. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1996;112:1533-40. discussion 40-1
5. Osugi H, Takemura M, Higashino M, Takada N, Lee S, et al. A comparison of video-assisted thoracoscopic oesophagectomy and radical lymph node dissection for squamous cell cancer of the oesophagus with open operation. Br J Surg 2003;90:108-13.
6. Cuschieri A. Endoscopic subtotal oesophagectomy for cancer using the right thoracoscopic approach. Surg Oncol 1993;2:3-11.
8. Palanivelu C, Prakash A, Senthilkumar R, Senthilnathan P, Parthasarathi R, et al. Minimally invasive esophagectomy: thoracoscopic mobilization of the esophagus and mediastinal lymphadenectomy in prone position--experience of 130 patients. J Am Coll Surg 2006;203:7-16.
9. Noshiro H, Iwasaki H, Kobayashi K, Uchiyama A, Miyasaka Y, et al. Lymphadenectomy along the left recurrent laryngeal nerve by a minimally invasive esophagectomy in the prone position for thoracic esophageal cancer. Surg Endosc 2010;24:2965-73.
10. Ozawa S, Ito E, Kazuno A, Chino O, Nakui M, et al. Thoracoscopic esophagectomy while in a prone position for esophageal cancer: a preceding anterior approach method. Surg Endosc 2013;27:40-7.
11. Tsujimoto H, Takahata R, Nomura S, Yaguchi Y, Kumano I, et al. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for esophageal cancer attenuates postoperative systemic responses and pulmonary complications. Surgery 2012;151:667-73.
12. Yatabe T, Kitagawa H, Yamashita K, Hanazaki K, Yokoyama M. Comparison of the perioperative outcome of esophagectomy by thoracoscopy in the prone position with that of thoracotomy in the lateral decubitus position. Surg Today 2013;43:386-91.
13. Akagawa S, Hosogi H, Yoshimura F, Kawada H, Kanaya S. Mesenteric excision for esophageal cancer surgery: based on the concept of mesotracheoesophagus. Int Cancer Conf J 2018;7:117-20.
14. Oshikiri T, Yasuda T, Harada H, Goto H, Oyama M, et al. A new method (the “Bascule method”) for lymphadenectomy along the left recurrent laryngeal nerve during prone esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Surg Endosc 2015;29:2442-50.
15. Cuesta MA, van der Wielen N, Weijs TJ, Bleys RL, Gisbertz SS, et al. Surgical anatomy of the supracarinal esophagus based on a minimally invasive approach: vascular and nervous anatomy and technical steps to resection and lymphadenectomy. Surg Endosc 2017;31:1863-70.
16. Cuesta MA, Weijs TJ, Bleys RL, van Hillegersberg R, van Berge Henegouwen MI, et al. A new concept of the anatomy of the thoracic oesophagus: the meso-oesophagus. Observational study during thoracoscopic esophagectomy. Surg Endosc 2015;29:2576-82.
17. Tokairin Y, Nakajima Y, Kawada K, Hoshino A, Okada T, et al. Histological study of the thin membranous structure made of dense connective tissue around the esophagus in the upper mediastinum. Esophagus 2018;15:272-80.
18. Fujiwara H, Kanamori J, Nakajima Y, Kawano T, Miura A, et al. An anatomical hypothesis: a “concentric-structured model” for the theoretical understanding of the surgical anatomy in the upper mediastinum required for esophagectomy with radical mediastinal lymph node dissection. Dis Esophagus 2019;32:doy119.
19. Shirakawa Y, Noma K, Maeda N, Tanabe S, Sakurama K, et al. Microanatomy-based standardization of left upper mediastinal lymph node dissection in thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the prone position. Surg Endosc 2020. epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1007/s00464-020-07407-9
20. Shirakawa Y, Noma K, Maeda N, Katsube R, Tanabe S, et al. Assistant-based standardization of prone position thoracoscopic esophagectomy. Acta Med Okayama 2014;68:111-7.
21. Japan Esophageal Society. Japanese Classification of Esophageal Cancer, 11th Edition: part I. Esophagus 2017;14:1-36.
22. Japan Esophageal Society. Japanese Classification of Esophageal Cancer, 11th Edition: part II and III. Esophagus 2017;14:37-65.
23. Brierley JD, Gospodarowicz MK, Wittekind C. TNM classification of malignant tumours. 8th ed. UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; 2017. Available from: http://mom.gov.az/resources/content_files/ebook/TNM-Classification-of-Malignant-Tumours-8th-edition.pdf. [Last accessed on 15 Jun 2020]
24. Dindo D, Demartines N, Clavien PA. Classification of surgical complications: a new proposal with evaluation in a cohort of 6336 patients and results of a survey. Ann Surg 2004;240:205-13.
25. Kayano H, Okuda J, Tanaka K, Kondo K, Tanigawa N. Evaluation of the learning curve in laparoscopic low anterior resection for rectal cancer. Surg Endosc 2011;25:2972-9.
