Surgery to remove your food pipe is called an oesophagectomy.  There are different types of oesophagectomy. The type you have depends on the stage and position of your cancer. 

 You might have:

• an oesophagectomy – your surgeon removes the part of the oesophagus containing the cancer
• a total oesophagectomy - your surgeon removes your whole oesophagus
• an oesophago-gastrectomy – your surgeon removes the top of your stomach and the part of the oesophagus containing cancer

Your surgeon also removes some of the nearby lymph nodes. This helps to reduce the risk of cancer coming back.