·The data of 38 elderly patients with esophageal cancer who were hospitalized in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Renji Hospital South Campus, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from May 2016 to May 2019 were collected. According to the perioperative treatment method, they were divided into FTS group (19 cases) and control group (19 cases). The FTS group was treated with FTS method and the control group was treated with traditional intervention method. The postoperative pain score, retention time of thoracic duct and catheter, recovery of gastrointestinal function, hospitalization time and complications of the two groups were compared.

·The postoperative pain of the FTS group was significantly lower than that of the control group. The retention time of thoracic duct [(2.9±0.9) d vs (6.3±1.4) d], the retention time of catheter [(1.7±0.5) d vs (5.2±1.6) d], the recovery time of gastrointestinal function [(2.5±0.6) d vs (6.6±2.1) d] and the hospitalization time [(14.7±3.1) d vs (20.6±3.8) d] of the patients in the FTS group were shorter than those in the control group (all P<0.05).

·FTS combined with thoracoscopic and laparoscopic esophagectomy can effectively relieve the postoperative pain of elderly patients, shorten the hospitalization time, and accelerate the recovery of patients.