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Tokairin et al. Mini-invasive Surg 2020;4:32 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1225.2020.23 Page 9 of 10

We consider dissection of the mediastinal lymph nodes using our MELD procedure to be sufficient.
However, whether the mediastinal lymph nodes are truly sufficiently dissected using this approach should
be confirmed in the next stage.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that a bilateral cervico-pneumomediastinal approach is useful for performing bilateral upper
mediastinal lymph node dissection and esophagectomy.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Conception and design of the study: Tokairin Y, Nagai K
Informed consent of the patients was obtained by Tokairin Y, Nakajima Y, Kawad K, Hoshin A, Okada T,
Matsui T, Yamaguchi K
Drafting of manuscript: Tokairin Y
Revision and final manuscript: Tokairin Y, Nagai K
General supervision: Kinugasa Y

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Written informed consent for publication was obtained as appropriate.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020.

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