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Esophageal resection is the surgical removal of part of the esophagus, the tube that connects the throat (pharynx) with the stomach and through which food passes.
Esophageal resection is a relatively rare surgery that requires technical proficiency and the use of complex equipment. Errors in surgical technique or management may lead to clinically significant complications, such as sepsis, pneumonia, and death, to name a few. Better processes of care may reduce mortality from esophageal resection; lower mortality suggests better quality.
This data has been risk adjusted. Risk adjustment is a process of accounting for differences in patient population based on many parameters such as age, sex, severity of illness, risk of mortality, and other attributes. Risk adjustment allows us to fairly compare hospitals across a wide range of healthcare measures.
This measure of quality should be used in conjunction with other measures to gain a more complete understanding of the quality picture.
Reference: [1] [3]