Introduction

Esophageal surgery is now commonly performed for both benign and malignant disorders of the esophagus. Hospital mortality for esophageal resection has dramatically decreased over the past two decades and is currently well below ten percent in most esophageal centers. However, the procedure is still associated with substantial morbidity.[1],[2],[3][4] Because of the frequency and severity of complications associated with esophagectomy, surgeons must become familiar with each of the potential complications and take aggressive steps to anticipate and treat any problems that might arise in the postoperative period.