Oesophagectomy News and Research

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Robot-assisted surgery for thoracic and abdominal indications provides few advantages despite high costs

Clinical studies on robot-assisted surgery for indications in the thorax and abdomen have so far shown few advantages for this cost-intensive surgical method.

28 May 2019

Esophageal cancer patients fare better after undergoing laparoscopic surgery, MIRO trial shows

Patients requiring surgery for esophageal cancer fare better after undergoing a hybrid minimally invasive esophagectomy (HMIO) compared to an open esophagectomy (OO), according to long-term results of the MIRO trial to be presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid .

5 Sep 2017

Surgeon's learning curve linked to fatality rates of oesophageal cancer patients

According to a major Swedish cohort study from researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London, a surgeon who operates on oesophageal cancer must have performed 60 operations to prevent any lack of experience adversely affecting the long-term survival of the patients. The finding, which is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, has potential significance for clinical practice.

9 Mar 2016

Readmission to same hospital for post-surgical complications improves survival

Patients rehospitalized with complications after major surgery are 26% more likely to survive if they return to the hospital where they had their operation compared to those readmitted to a different hospital, according to a national study involving over 9 million Medicare patients in the USA, published in The Lancet.

22 Jun 2015

Publication of death rates: an interview with Dr Kate Walker, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

The death rates of individual heart surgeons have been published in England and several US states for some years. A high profile investigation into high death rates at a certain cardiac centre motivated this in England. For other surgery types, death rates have been reported only at the hospital or trust level. NHS England’s “Everyone Counts” policy, introduced this Summer, means that outcomes of ten types of surgery will be reported at the individual surgeon level.

15 Aug 2013

Research suggests that publication of death rates unlikely to detect poorly performing surgeons

New research published in The Lancet suggests that the publication of death rates for individual surgeons in England, launched for the first of a new group of 10 specialties last week, is unlikely to correctly identify poorly performing surgeons in some specialties, because low numbers of key operations lead to unreliable results.

9 Jul 2013

“Devastating” evidence against Dr. Jayant Patel

Dr. Jayant Patel, 60, is pleading not guilty to the manslaughter of Mervyn Morris, Gerry Kemps and James Phillips and grievous bodily harm to Ian Vowles during his time as director of surgery at the Bundaberg Base Hospital between 2003 and 2005. In new developments the Brisbane Supreme Court heard many medical specialists give evidence against Patel’s decision to operate on Mr. Phillips in May 2003 who later died.

15 Jun 2010

Nurses give evidence of the horrifying day in Dr. Jayant Patel’s surgery

The trial of Dr. Jayant Patel continues. In recent evidence at the court one of the operating theatre nurses revealed under oath to the Brisbane Supreme Court how staff had tried to deter former Bundaberg-based surgeon Jayant Patel from transferring an unstable patient from the theatre to ICU, where he died. There was earlier evidence that the man was bleeding uncontrollably and also allegations that Patel urged junior doctors not to tell anyone what happened.

12 May 2010

Renal specialist says Dr Patel’s patient was too frail for surgery

In the ongoing trial of Dr Jayant Patel, Dr Peter Miach, a renal specialist, gave evidence before the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Dr Miach said the patient James Phillips had too many other problems and he would not have recommended surgery for him in his frail state.

12 Apr 2010

Further delay in the trial of Dr. Jayant Patel

There is yet another delay in the Dr. Jayant Patel manslaughter trial. Justice John Byrne gave the jury a day off on Thursday agreeing to meet on Friday. He parted with encouraging words to the jury saying, "During the Second World War, so I'm told, at times when things were quiet for the soldiers, they were often encouraged with the words of (17th century poet John) Milton from three centuries earlier: `They also serve who only sit and wait'…I mention this because your involvement today now ceases and it will be not necessary for you to be involved in the trial for the rest of the day."

8 Apr 2010

Omega-3 fatty acids may help cancer patients undergoing major operations

New research from Trinity College Dublin published in this month's Annals of Surgery points to a potentially significant advance in the treatment of patients undergoing major cancer surgery.

12 Apr 2009