Background: Esophageal surgery in esophageal cancer has low curative resection rate and its resut has not improved even after the extended lymphnode dissection. To evaluate the effectiveness of cervical lymph node dissection, we compare the node of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients esophageal cancer. Materials and methods: We studied a series of 32 patients who underwent operation for thoracic esophageal carcinoma at our institution. The 25 patient who underwent curative surgery were divided into two groups. Both groups A and B underwent transthoracic esophagectomies with mediastinal and abdominal lymphadenectomies only, but group B also underwent bilateral lower neck node dissection. Results: The rate of operative complications did not differ significantly between two groups. No operative and hospital mortalities were noted in either group. However, the mean anesthetic time was significantly longer in group B(mean: 90 minutes). Neck node metastasis was revealed in 27% of group B. Conclusions: Therfore, neck node dissection is meaningful for surgical treatment of the thoracic esophageal carcinoma. The longterm survival rate should be compared later.