Table 1 Comparison of recovery time to commencing normal liquid diet between the manual and stapled anastomosis groups after surgery
| Tumor types | Anastomotic methods | Number of cases | The normal time for liquid diet after surgery (day) () | t- value | P- value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esophageal cancer | Manual procedure | 32 | 8.38 ± 3.11 | 0.607 | > 0.05 |
| Stapler suture | 64 | 8.02 ± 1.77 |