Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. May 14, 2026; 32(18): 116018
Published online May 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i18.116018
Published online May 14, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v32.i18.116018
Exposed endoscopic full-thickness resection vs thoracoscopic surgery for complex esophageal subepithelial lesions arising from the muscularis propria
Xiao-Xiao Li, Qing-Fen Zheng, Zi-Yu Shi, Miao Shi, Mohammad Serajul Islam, Dan Liu, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China
Antonio Marin Garcia, Department of Gastroenterology, Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona 08918, Spain
Co-first authors: Xiao-Xiao Li and Qing-Fen Zheng.
Author contributions: Li XX and Zheng QF made equal contributions as co-first authors; Liu D and Li XX contributed to study design and conceptualization; Liu D contributed to supervision and project oversight; Li XX contributed to data collection and acquisition; Li XX, Zheng QF, and Liu D contributed to data analysis and interpretation; all authors did manuscript drafting and critical revision, and approved the final version to publish.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Scientific Research and Clinical Trial Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 2019-KY-147.
Informed consent statement: The requirement for informed consent was waived by the Scientific Research and Clinical Trial Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University due to the retrospective nature of the study and the use of anonymized data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to patient privacy concerns, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request and with appropriate data use agreements in place.
Corresponding author: Dan Liu, MD, PhD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 Jianshe East Road, Erqi District, Zhengzhou 450000, Henan Province, China.
Received: October 31, 2025
Revised: December 4, 2025
Accepted: February 25, 2026
Published online: May 14, 2026
Processing time: 187 Days and 0.6 Hours
Revised: December 4, 2025
Accepted: February 25, 2026
Published online: May 14, 2026
Processing time: 187 Days and 0.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Esophageal exposed endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) proved to be a safe procedure for complex esophageal subepithelial lesions-muscularis propria. Postoperative adverse events were conservatively managed and occurred at an acceptable rate. Exposed EFTR achieved 100% technical success and curative resection. Even for large tumors requiring piecemeal resection for retrieval, patient outcomes were not compromised. Patients undergoing esophageal exposed EFTR demonstrated faster recovery, evidenced by earlier initiation of oral intake and shorter nasogastric intubation durations.