Robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy: is it advantageous over thoracoscopic esophagectomy?

To improve surgical outcome and reduce surgical morbidity, minimally invasive approaches, including thoracoscopic and laparoscopic approaches, have been explored in the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer. The value of minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) is well established and oncologic results obtained with MIE are comparable to those of open esophagectomy.