The modern approach to esophagectomy—review of the shift towards minimally invasive surgery

The treatment of esophageal cancer has significantly advanced in the last 10 years and now includes multimodal treatment with a continued emphasis on surgical management. Minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) has been performed for almost 25 years and, in comparison to open esophagectomy techniques, MIE has shown to be equivalent or better in terms of its perioperative and oncologic outcomes. This paper reviews the evidence for MIE and recommends it should be offered as the first approach for esophagectomy surgery in the modern era.