Prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications after esophageal cancer surgery

Esophageal cancer is the 8^th most common cancer worldwide and the 6^th most common cause of cancer death (1). Although squamous cell carcinoma remains the predominant histologic type worldwide and represents 87% of all esophageal cancer (2), the incidence of adenocarcinoma has increased substantially over the past 20 years in Western countries due to the rising prevalence of obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease (3,4).