Table 2.
Postoperative complications within 30 days after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer for 331 patients
| Complication | Definition | n (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Complications | Occurrence of any complications | |
| No | 120 (36.3) | |
| Yes | 211 (63.7) | |
| Clavien-Dindo classification | – | |
| 0–1 | 129 (39.0) | |
| 2–3a | 116 (35.0) | |
| 3b–4 | 85 (25.7) | |
| Missing | 1 (0.3) | |
| Complication groupa | ||
| Medical complication | Sepsis, pneumonia, hepatic insufficiency, renal failure, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, other embolism, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, cerebral infarction, or respiratory insufficiency | 146 (44.1) |
| Surgical complication | Postoperative bleeding, anastomotic insufficiency, substitute necrosis, thoracic ductus injury, intrathoracic abscess or empyema, intra-abdominal abscess, wound infection, wound dehiscence, ileus, gastric perforation, recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, or strictures in anastomosis | 112 (33.8) |
| Pulmonary complication | Respiratory insufficiency or pneumonia | 97 (29.3) |
| Cardiac complication | Myocardial infarction or atrial fibrillation | 61 (18.4) |
| Complications typea | ||
| Pneumonia | Radiologically detected infiltrate with clinical symptoms such as fever, cough, or dyspnea | 65 (19.6) |
| Atrial fibrillation | Newly electrocardiogram detected and treatment required | 57 (17.2) |
| Anastomotic insufficiency | Clinically significant or radiologically detected | 54 (16.3) |
| Respiratory insufficiency | Reintubation or mechanical ventilation needed | 52 (15.7) |
| Sepsis | Causing clinical symptoms such as fever, chills, and proven bacteria in the blood | 34 (10.3) |
| Wound infection | Causing clinical symptoms and requiring treatment | 25 (7.6) |
| Intrathoracic abscess or empyema | ≥3*3 cm radiologically or surgically detected abscess with clinical symptoms such as fever, pain or dyspnea | 22 (6.6) |
| Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis | Laryngeal inspection ascertained | 20 (6.0) |
| Pulmonary embolism | Radiologically detected | 15 (4.5) |
| Thoracic ductus injury | Thoracic lymph leakage requiring drainage for more than 7 days or reoperation | 15 (4.5) |
| Substitute necrosis | Clinically significant ischemia with ulceration or perforation | 11 (3.3) |
| Intra-abdominal abscess | ≥3*3cm radiologically or surgically detected abscess with clinical symptoms such as fever or pain | 7 (2.1) |
| Myocardial infarction | Electrocardiogram or cardiac enzymes verified | 7 (2.1) |
| Ileus | Radiologically detected ileus in need of surgery | 5 (1.5) |
| Renal failure | Dialysis needed | 4 (1.2) |
| Postoperative bleeding | >2000 ml or requiring reoperation | 2 (0.6) |
| Other embolism | Radiologically detected and requiring treatment | 2 (0.6) |
| Strictures in anastomosis | Endoscopic intervention required | 2 (0.6) |
| Hepatic insufficiency | Progressive jaundice | 1 (0.3) |
| Gastric perforation | Surgical intervention required | 1 (0.3) |
| Wound dehiscence | Clinically obvious wound rupture | 0 (0.0) |
| Deep venous thrombosis | Radiologically or clinically verified with treatment needs | 0 (0.0) |
| Cerebral infarction/stroke | Radiologically verified | 0 (0.0) |
| Other complicationsb | – | 38 (11.5) |
aEach patient could have more than 1 group or type of complications
bMost of the patients who had other complications also had the specific complication types listed above