Esophageal cancer surgery is a relatively common treatment for esophageal cancer, and depending on the severity of the disease, lumpectomy minimally invasive surgery and open conventional surgery can be used. Minimally invasive lumpectomy is suitable for the early stage of cancer with limited expansion of cancer cells and small lesions, and this method often uses laparoscopy and thoracoscopy to remove cancerous lesions from the esophagus, which results in a smaller excisional wound and faster recovery; however, the early symptoms of esophageal cancer are not obvious, and most patients are already in the middle or even late stage when they discover esophageal cancer. At present, the traditional open surgery is more commonly used in clinical practice, which is generally divided into left thoracic approach surgery and right thoracic approach surgery. The right thoracic approach is more invasive and can effectively remove the metastatic upper longitudinal lymph nodes; if there are more metastatic lymph nodes, then the whole esophagus needs to be removed and the stomach can be freed to reconstruct the esophagus, or part of the intestine can be used for reconstruction. In conclusion, if surgery is indicated for esophageal cancer, complete resection of the diseased esophagus, removal of metastatic lymph nodes, and reconstruction of the digestive tract should be ensured.