Abstract:To evaluate the applicability, advantages, disadvantages and safety of water-filling endoscopic submucosal dissection (w-ESD) for esophageal cancer or precancerous lesions, the experimental group prospectively enrolled patients diagnosed as having esophageal cancer or precancerous lesions confirmed by gastroscopy and biopsy pathological examination who required endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and underwent w-ESD at the Department of Gastroenterology, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University from September 2024 to February 2025. The control group retrospectively retrieved patients meeting the same indications with the same diagnostic process who underwent conventional ESD (c-ESD) from March to September 2024. For the experimental group, the scores of surgical field, water drainage and storage, intraoperative electrotomy and electrocoagulation use, intraoperative hemorrhage management, and the difficulty level of the method given by the operator were recorded, as well as the procedure time, hospital stay, intraoperative and postoperative complications. For the control group, the procedure time, hospital stay, intraoperative and postoperative complications were collected. A total of 42 patients were enrolled, including 20 in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. All patients underwent the operation successfully. In the experimental group, 3 cases of postoperative fever and 1 case of postoperative pneumonia occurred, while 4 cases of postoperative fever and 1 case of postoperative pneumonia occurred in the control group. No postoperative perforation, intraoperative or delayed hemorrhage, or subcutaneous emphysema was observed in either group. The procedure time of the experimental group was 45.25±13.52 minutes (15-70 minutes), and the hospital stay was 7.05±0.61 days (6-9 days). The procedure time of the control group was 38.64±10.26 minutes (20-65 minutes), and the hospital stay was 6.82±0.66 days (6-9 days). There were no significant differences in the procedure time (t=1.80, P=0.080) or the hospital stay (t=1.18, P=0.246) between the two groups. For the experimental group, the scores of surgical field, water drainage and storage, intraoperative hemorrhage management, and the difficulty level of the method were all 2 points, the score of intraoperative electrotomy effect was 1.85±0.37 points, and the score of intraoperative electrocoagulation effect was 1.90±0.31 points. W-ESD is suitable for incision, dissection and wound management procedures, with good intraoperative visual field and rapid intraoperative hemostasis, which is worth of further clinical research and promotion.