Percentage (%) of esophagus removed during surgery? Lower esophagus/ stomach junction.

Ucsf_smile
Ucsf_smile Member Posts: 79
in Esophageal Cancer #1
Hi all,
At my mom's pre-op appointment, the surgeon said 65% of her esophagus will be removed.

Out of curiosity, I'd like to take a poll of the percentage removed for those who have undergone surgery.

Mostly because my mom is convinced 65% is too much, and I'm trying to convince her it isn't and she should allow the doctors to remove as much is needed to be cancer free.

This will just help me understand if the doctor's proposal is in-line with others out there.

Thanks much!

Comments

  • JimboC
    JimboC Member Posts: 264
    #2
    I had the MIE in July and
    I had the MIE in July and 2/3 or I guess 66.6% was removed so it doesn't sound too bad. I am doing fine post-op and eat pretty much anything I want but just in smaller portions. I lost about 50 pounds that I could spare and then my weight stablized. I feel great today so tell your Mom, it sounds bad but once you recover, it's fine.
  • LilChemoSmoker
    LilChemoSmoker Member Posts: 185
    #3
    Dunno if that is enough...
    I would let your mom know that they can do wonders with this surgery and though it is a very tough recovery, the chance at survival is the focus. I would hate to think that if they didn't remove all that was needed it will creep back quickly! I have no idea how much is enough, but that is what the Docs are trained to do best. Survival is key, and if that means taking 100% to make it happen, it is so much better than the alternative.

    Hugs to you and Mom!
    -Michelle
  • casp42
    casp42 Member Posts: 79
    #4
    LilChemoSmoker said:

    Dunno if that is enough...
    I would let your mom know that they can do wonders with this surgery and though it is a very tough recovery, the chance at survival is the focus. I would hate to think that if they didn't remove all that was needed it will creep back quickly! I have no idea how much is enough, but that is what the Docs are trained to do best. Survival is key, and if that means taking 100% to make it happen, it is so much better than the alternative.

    Hugs to you and Mom!
    -Michelle

    Ucsf----
    My father had the MIE on Oct. 7, the drs' informed us that they removed 3/4 of his esophagus and 30% of his stomach. My father had quite a few complications, we have said if the drs in Chicago did the surgery (25) per year vs. Dr. Luketich who does @ least 200 per year, the Chicago drs wouldn't of been able to handle the complications.

    Carolyn
  • Laura23
    Laura23 Member Posts: 81
    #5
    LilChemoSmoker said:

    Dunno if that is enough...
    I would let your mom know that they can do wonders with this surgery and though it is a very tough recovery, the chance at survival is the focus. I would hate to think that if they didn't remove all that was needed it will creep back quickly! I have no idea how much is enough, but that is what the Docs are trained to do best. Survival is key, and if that means taking 100% to make it happen, it is so much better than the alternative.

    Hugs to you and Mom!
    -Michelle

    Depends
    My husband had the MIE at the end of August and the lower 1/3 of his esophagus and top 1/4 of his stomach were removed (approximately). I would think it would depend on exactly where the tumor is and how large it is that would determine how much of the esophagus is removed. The goal should be to remove the entire tumor and to have clean margins.

    Laura
  • bingbing2009
    bingbing2009 Member Posts: 177
    #6
    My percentage
    The surgeons removed 2/3 (66.7%) of my esophagus and 1/3 (33.3%) of my stomach.

    Melinda
  • chemosmoker
    chemosmoker Member Posts: 501
    #7
    What I think
    I would be worried a lot more about WHO is doing the surgery and where, as was noted in the other posts.
    Here is why: They can take out 100%v of my esophagus and 100% of my stomach and I will still not survive.

    So I would say make sure mom is being treated by the VERY BEST possible doctor(s), and let them take whatever they think makes for VERY safe margins! We are NOT doctors, and I have NO idea what a "safe margins" are, or how to know, as the cancer cells are a little too small to see, they are SOOO tiny, and they need to make sure they get all they can, and then do the post-op chemo for clean-up to get the errant cells before a recurrence is a certainty.

    I don't mean this to sound nearly as sarcastic as it seems to to me, but I want your mom to make a FULL recovery. What so many here wouldn't give to have the surgery as even an option. She is blessed and I pray she makes a full recovery and that they get all they can-and then some.

    God bless you and your mom.
    -Eric
  • NikiMo
    NikiMo Member Posts: 342
    #8
    bingbing2009 said:

    My percentage
    The surgeons removed 2/3 (66.7%) of my esophagus and 1/3 (33.3%) of my stomach.

    Melinda

    Same here
    Husband had 2/3 of esophagus removed and 1/3 of stomach at John Hopkins.

    Niki
  • Gatoraid
    Gatoraid Member Posts: 66
    #9
    My Results
    My tumor was where the esophagus meets the stomach. I had MIE surgery in December 2010 and they took out two thirds of my esophagus and portion of my upper stomach. They do that to eliminate as much as they can to reduce the risk of leaving cancer cells after the surgery. It sounds to me like your mother is getting the standard approach because others I have talked to with a similar tumor had the same thing. Tell your mother that it's important to get the cancer out. She'll end up with a smaller stomach but it's something we can live with when we consider the alternative.

    Getting an experienced surgeon that can do the surgery MIE is the safest way to go.

    Jim
  • Ucsf_smile
    Ucsf_smile Member Posts: 79
    #10
    Thanks a bunch!!
    Thanks for all the feedback,
    It's so uplifting to here all that have had a successful surgery.

    The Team at UCSF do about 35 MIE surgeries a year.

    I am going to call dr. Nguyen at UC irvine tomorrow. We can't make it to Pittsburg, and I heard dr. Nguyen is the next best thing.
  • Laura23
    Laura23 Member Posts: 81
    #11
    chemosmoker said:

    What I think
    I would be worried a lot more about WHO is doing the surgery and where, as was noted in the other posts.
    Here is why: They can take out 100%v of my esophagus and 100% of my stomach and I will still not survive.

    So I would say make sure mom is being treated by the VERY BEST possible doctor(s), and let them take whatever they think makes for VERY safe margins! We are NOT doctors, and I have NO idea what a "safe margins" are, or how to know, as the cancer cells are a little too small to see, they are SOOO tiny, and they need to make sure they get all they can, and then do the post-op chemo for clean-up to get the errant cells before a recurrence is a certainty.

    I don't mean this to sound nearly as sarcastic as it seems to to me, but I want your mom to make a FULL recovery. What so many here wouldn't give to have the surgery as even an option. She is blessed and I pray she makes a full recovery and that they get all they can-and then some.

    God bless you and your mom.
    -Eric

    Clean marginS
    While I am not a physician, I do have a little bit of experience in the scientific field and feel that I can answer this question. A clean margin is determined microscopically in the pathology lab. The surgeon will take a very thin slice of tissue during surgery. This tissue is sent to the pathology lab for immediate analysis. I believe that this specimen is further sliced down so that it is approximately I cell width wide. The specimen may also be stained with a dye that attached only to cancer cells. This is then examined under the microscope to determine if any cancer cells are present. The results are immediately given to the surgeon who then knows whether or not he needs to remove more of the esophagus. This is performed repeatedly until the surgeon is satisfied. Yes, it actually takes place during surgery.

    Hope this helps.
    Laura
  • TerryV
    TerryV Member Posts: 887
    #12
    Laura23 said:

    Clean marginS
    While I am not a physician, I do have a little bit of experience in the scientific field and feel that I can answer this question. A clean margin is determined microscopically in the pathology lab. The surgeon will take a very thin slice of tissue during surgery. This tissue is sent to the pathology lab for immediate analysis. I believe that this specimen is further sliced down so that it is approximately I cell width wide. The specimen may also be stained with a dye that attached only to cancer cells. This is then examined under the microscope to determine if any cancer cells are present. The results are immediately given to the surgeon who then knows whether or not he needs to remove more of the esophagus. This is performed repeatedly until the surgeon is satisfied. Yes, it actually takes place during surgery.

    Hope this helps.
    Laura

    Thanks for that!
    Laura,

    This is great information. I had not realized that's how "clean margins" were determined. That is really good to know :)

    Terry

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