[Limited surgery in cancer of the hypopharynx and cervical esophagus: role of autotransplants of the intestinal loop and skin flaps].

The cervical esophageal region can be involved by several cancer types as primary malignancies of the hypopharynx and cervical esophagus, locally advanced tumors of the larynx and thyroid, and neoplastic recurrence after laryngectomy for cancer. These situations often require complex surgical procedures, and the integrated use of multiple surgical techniques or multistage operations. It is often a limit-type surgery that requires free loop intestinal autotransplants, local and regional skin flaps, and peduncle myocutaneous flaps, and therefore requires specific skill not only in general and thoracic surgery but also in head and neck surgery, plastic surgery and microsurgery. This paper summarizes the experience in the field of cervical esophagus replacement with jejunal free loop autotransplant (23 cases) and cutaneous or myocutaneous flaps (23 cases) at the "Centro Regionale Veneto per le Malattie dell'Esofago" from 1980 to 1993.