An evaluation of symptoms and performance status in patients after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer from the viewpoint of the patient.

We used a questionnaire method to investigate the complaints and the life conditions of 81 patients after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. Patients were separated into three groups according to their follow-up time: less than 2 years, more than 2 years but less than 5 years, and more than 5 years after surgery. The distribution of complaints was similar regardless of the time elapsed since surgery. Only 22% of all patients had no complaints. Abdominal fullness and stenotic sensation were the major complaints. Body weight was unstable for 2 years following surgery, but subsequently stabilized. The content of meals, volume of meals, and Performance Status (PS) did not differ significantly among the groups and were indicative of satisfactory recovery. Our results suggest that in contrast to other surgeries, postoperative symptoms persist in esophagectomyed patients with long survival and that about half of the cases whose follow-up time was less than 2 years have unstable body weight.