Objective To analyze the occurrence status and influencing factors of esophageal stenosis after surgery for early esophageal cancer.

Methods A total of 285 patients with early esophageal cancer with endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in the hospital from January 2019 to January 2021 were selected as research objects, and they were divided into control group with 237 cases (without esophageal stenosis) and study group with 48 cases (with esophageal stenosis) according to the occurrence of esophageal stenosis after surgery. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss and quality of life were compared between the two groups. The influencing factors of esophageal stenosis were analyzed.

Results Compared with the control group, the study group had longer operation time, more intraoperative blood loss, and lower scores in psychological, environmental, physiological and social dimensions, and the between-group differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that esophageal stenosis after ESD had no correlations with gender, clinical stage, pathological type, history of drinking, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, and anesthesia method (P>0.05). Patients aged ≥60 years old, damage of the muscularis propria, circumferential extent of lesion >3/4, malnutrition, tissue infiltration depth of M3+SM1, and longitudinal length of lesion >40 mm had a higher incidence of esophageal stenosis (P<0.05). Multivariate Logistics regression analysis showed that malnutrition, age ≥60 years, circumferential extent of lesion >3/4, damage of the muscularis propria, tissue infiltration depth of M3+SM1, and longitudinal length of lesion >40 mm were the main influencing factors for esophageal stenosis after ESD (P<0.05).

Conclusion The occurrence of esophageal stenosis after ESD in patients with early esophageal cancer is related to factors such as damage of the muscularis propria, malnutrition, age ≥60 years, tissue infiltration depth of M3+SM1, circumferential extent of lesion >3/4, and longitudinal length of lesion >40 mm. Based on these factors, early prevention and control can be carried out to reduce the incidence of esophageal stenosis after surgery.