For achalasia, a condition that makes swallowing difficult, this 5-year study compared traditional surgery (Heller myotomy with a reflux-prevention wrap) to a newer technique done entirely through a scope in the mouth (POEM). Both relieved swallowing symptoms equally well, in about 85% of patients, but patients who had POEM were about twice as likely to develop reflux afterward. Surgery with a wrap remains the better choice for patients who already have reflux.
Five-year follow-up of a multicentre RCT comparing laparoscopic Heller myotomy with Dor fundoplication versus POEM found equivalent symptom remission rates (85% vs. 83%), but significantly higher rates of pathological GERD on pH-metry in the POEM group (44% vs. 21%). Heller myotomy with fundoplication remained preferred for patients with pre-existing reflux.
Researchers compared two ways of treating reflux: traditional wrap surgery (fundoplication) and a newer device made of magnetic beads placed around the esophagus (LINX). In 380 patients followed for 3 years, both controlled symptoms equally well. The traditional wrap worked better for patients with larger hernias, while the magnetic device better preserved the ability to burp and vomit normally.
A prospective comparative study of 380 patients found magnetic sphincter augmentation (LINX) and laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication achieved equivalent symptom control at 3 years. Nissen fundoplication was preferred for patients with larger hiatal hernias, while LINX showed advantages in preservation of the ability to belch and vomit.
This landmark trial followed esophageal cancer patients for 10 years and confirmed that having chemotherapy and radiation before surgery leads to significantly better long-term survival than surgery alone — 38% of patients were alive at 10 years with the combined approach, versus 25% with surgery alone. This combination is now the standard approach worldwide for cancer that has spread nearby but not distantly.
Ten-year follow-up of the landmark CROSS trial confirmed durable survival benefit of neoadjuvant chemoradiation (carboplatin/paclitaxel + 41.4 Gy) prior to esophagectomy. Overall survival at 10 years was 38% in the combined modality arm vs. 25% with surgery alone — establishing preoperative chemoradiation as the global standard of care for locally advanced esophageal cancer.
Looking at 180 robotic esophagus removals at one hospital, researchers found that after a surgeon had done about 40 cases, results — operating time, leak rates at the new connection, thoroughness of cancer removal — matched the best open-surgery benchmarks, and lung complications were about half what’s typically seen with open surgery. This underscores why choosing an experienced, high-volume surgical team matters.
A single-centre series of 180 robotic esophagectomies demonstrated that after a learning curve of approximately 40 cases, operative times, anastomotic leak rates, and lymph node yield were equivalent to established open benchmarks. Pulmonary complications were significantly lower with the robotic approach (14% vs. 28% open historical controls).
In this large trial of over 1,100 patients with small lung cancers (2 cm or smaller) near the outer edge of the lung, removing just the affected segment led to better 5-year survival than removing the whole lobe — 94% versus 91% — while also preserving more lung function. This result changed international guidelines, making the smaller operation the recommended approach for eligible patients.
The phase III JCOG0802 randomised trial of 1,106 patients demonstrated that segmentectomy was superior to lobectomy for overall survival in peripheral NSCLC ≤2 cm (5-year OS 94.3% vs. 91.1%, HR 0.663), while preserving significantly more lung function. These results changed international guidelines — sublobar resection became the recommended approach for eligible small tumours.
Adding an immunotherapy drug to chemotherapy before lung cancer surgery increased the proportion of patients whose tumour was completely gone by the time of the operation from about 2% to 24%, and extended the time before the cancer returned or progressed. This has transformed how lung cancer is treated in the weeks before surgery.
Three-year follow-up of the CheckMate 816 trial confirmed event-free survival benefit of adding nivolumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy before resection of stage IB–IIIA NSCLC (EFS 31.6 vs. 20.8 months). Pathological complete response rate was 24% vs. 2.2% — a result that has transformed pre-operative protocols for resectable lung cancer.