How to Pronounce McKeown Esophagectomy

Say it like this: mah-KYOO-en ee-sof-ah-JEK-toh-mee. The stress falls on the second syllable of McKeown (KYOO) and on the fourth syllable of esophagectomy (JEK). Think of it as "mah-KYOO-en" followed by "ee-sof-ah-JEK-toh-mee."

Esophagectomy means surgical removal of the esophagus, which is the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. The word breaks down into "esophagus" (the tube) plus "ectomy" (meaning to cut out or remove).

It's named after Thomas McKeown, a surgeon who developed this particular three-stage surgical technique. In medical language, procedures are often named after the doctors who invented or perfected them.

The McKeown technique is one of several ways surgeons can remove an esophagus—the name tells you which specific approach and incision pattern the surgeon uses. Different esophagectomy names (like Ivor Lewis) refer to different surgical techniques with different incision locations.

McKeown breaks into two syllables: Mc-KEOWN. Esophagectomy breaks into six syllables: e-sof-ah-JEK-toh-mee. Put together, you're saying eight syllables total, with the stress on KYOO and JEK.

People often stress the wrong syllable and say "ee-SOF-ah-jek-toh-mee" instead of "ee-sof-ah-JEK-toh-mee." Remember: the stress should fall on JEK, not SOF.

The suffix '-ectomy' comes from Greek and means 'surgical removal of' or 'cutting out.' You'll see it in many medical words like appendectomy (removal of the appendix) or tonsillectomy (removal of the tonsils).

Here's an example: "The surgeon explained that the patient would undergo a McKeown esophagectomy, which involves three separate incisions." This sentence uses the term correctly to describe the surgical procedure by name.