Esophageal surgery in minimally invasive era

Table 1 Recommended approaches to esophageal procedures

Type of procedure	Open surgery	Laparoscopic surgery	Robotic	Level of evidence1
Total esophagectomy (McKeown)	Standard	Accepted	Developing	LE 3
Partial esophagectomy (Ivor-Lewis)	Standard	Accepted	Developing	LE 2
Transhiatal esophagectomy (Orringer)	Standard	Accepted	Developing	LE 3
Anti-reflux surgery	Abandoned	Standard	Developing	LE 1
Heller myotomy	Abandoned	Standard	Developing	LE 1
Local excision	Standard	Accepted	Developing	LE 4
Others	Standard	Accepted	Developing	LE 4

¹Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. Levels of Evidence Working Group. "The Oxford 2011 Levels of Evidence". http://www.cebm.net/index.aspx?o=5653