When performed in a standardized way, neck and chest anastomoses after esophageal resection are equally safe. The additional esophageal resection of 5 cm in the neck group did not increase tumor removal and survival; on the other hand, it did not adversely influence morbidity, anastomotic diameter, or eating as reflected by body weight development.

A self-expanding esophageal nitinol stent was implanted under fluoroscopic guidance in 40 patients with malignant esophageal strictures and clinically significant dysphagia. The strictures were caused by squamous cell carcinoma (n = 14), adenocarcinoma (n = 12), recurrent anastomotic carcinoma (n = 8), and mediastinal tumors (n = 6). Eight stents were balloon dilated to maximum diameter immediately after insertion. Sixteen stents self-expanded to maximum diameter within 24 hours, and the other stents expanded to maximum diameter during further observation. There were no serious stent-related complications, and the dysphagia was reduced considerably in all patients immediately after stent insertion. Persistent tumor bleeding occurred in two patients, and ingrowth of tumor into the stent was seen in eight patients. Two stents occluded due to tumor ingrowth but were successfully recanalized with endoscopic laser coagulation. At the end of the study, 28 patients were dead with a mean survival of 2.9 months (range, 0.1-7.0 months), and 12 patients were alive with a mean follow-up of 8.8 months (range, 4.0-15.0 months).

The reaction of the normal esophageal wall to inserted self-expanding nitinol stents was studied in pigs. An inflammatory reaction with increasing fibrotic activity and degeneration of the muscular layers in the esophageal wall was demonstrated. Five patients with severe dysphagia secondary to benign esophageal strictures also underwent insertion of self-expanding nitinol stents. All of the stents expanded completely, with subsequent regression of dysphagia. One treated esophagus was resected and showed deep implantation of the stent meshwork in the esophageal wall. Significant stenoses secondary to tissue hyperplasia, located at the edges of the stent, occurred in two patients. These results show that self-expanding nitinol stents may be used for palliation of dysphagia in patients with benign esophageal strictures. Because of the observed reactions in the esophageal wall, such treatment should be restricted to selected patients until more experience has been gained.

Heller's esophagomyotomy relieves dysphagia but does not restore esophageal peristalsis. The myotomy may induce reflux and the addition of a 360 degrees fundoplication may be hazardous with regard to the remaining aperistaltic esophagus. The aim of this prospectively randomized clinical trial was to compare the outcome for patients with uncomplicated achalasia who underwent an anterior Heller's esophagomyotomy (H group) with or without an additional floppy Nissen fundoplication (H + N group). Between 1984 and 1995, 20 patients were prospectively randomized to one or other of the performed operations, 10 patients per group. Esophagitis including Barrett's esophagus (n = 2) was seen under medical treatment, in 6 of 9 in the H group but none in the H + N group. No patient in the H + N group required postoperative continuous acid-reducing drugs. Twenty-four-hour esophageal pH-studies in median 3.4 years after surgery showed pathological reflux expressed as a percentage of time below pH 4 of 13.1% in the H group compared to 0.15% (P < 0.001) in H + N group. One patient with recurrent dysphagia in the H + N group later had an esophagectomy. The remaining patients reported significant improvement of dysphagia without symptoms of reflux at 8.0 years follow-up. Heller's esophagomyotomy eliminates dysphagia, but can induce advanced reflux that requires medical treatment. The addition of a 360 degrees fundoplication eliminates reflux without adding dysphagia in the majority of patients and can be recommended for most patients with uncomplicated achalasia.

Even though patients were increasingly older and more ill, neither the mortality nor the rate of postoperative complications changed during the study period.