A surgical incision made into the esophagus, usually to remove an obstruction or treat a disease.
From Greek 'esophagos' (gullet) + '-tomy' (surgical cutting). This combines the anatomical term with the standard medical suffix for any procedure involving making an incision into a body part.
Surgeons performing esophagotomy had to develop techniques in the 1800s before they could safely peer inside the throat—they literally had to work blind or by touch, making this one of surgery's riskier procedures at the time.
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