BACKGROUND The central element of the multimodal therapy concept for esophageal carcinomas is operative resection. This is a complex visceral surgical intervention that calls for standardized and interdisciplinary perioperative management. Continuous control of results is essential for evaluating therapy concepts. METHODS Data of patients who had undergone thoracoabdominal resection of an esophageal carcinoma were recorded and evaluated in a prospective single center study within the framework of internal quality control. RESULTS In the time span between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2005, 193 patients with esophageal carcinoma were treated. Of these, 97 (50.7%) received single-stage abdominothoracal resection without neoadjuvant primary therapy. In 70% of these cases, an advanced tumor stage was present (UICC IIb or higher). R0 resection was achieved in 83 patients (85.5%). The rate of hospital mortality was found to be 6.2% (n=6). In a follow-up examination rate of 95.6%, an overall 5-year survival rate of 25% was found for all resected patients and 30% for those who received curative resection. CONCLUSIONS The long-term results reached by surgery alone are comparable to those published in the current literature but are still not satisfying. A more individual approach to therapy with increased selection of patients for the application of modern neoadjuvant concepts could lead to an improvement in prognosis.