Minimally invasive surgery for benign esophageal diseases. Experience in 483 patientsBackground: Minimally invasive surgical techniques are increasingly used for the treatment of benign esophageal diseases. Aim: To report the results of minimally invasive surgical techniques among patients with benign esophageal diseases. Material and Methods: Four hundred eighty three patients aged 37 to 81 years (184 males), were studied. Of these, 278 had a Barret esophagus, 125 had a hiatal hernia, 75 had achalasia and five had esophageal diverticula. All patients were studied using standard protocols, operated using minimally invasive techniques and followed, registering postoperative complications and recurrence of symptoms. Results: Among patients with esophageal reflux, 85% had successful results on the long term. Among patients with hiatal hernia and subjected to laparoscopic surgery, 12% had complications and 12% had recurrence of symptoms which increased to 17% if a mesh was not used. The recurrence rate among patients with achalasia is less than 5%. There was no recurrence among patients with esophageal diverticula. Conclusions: Minimally invasive surgery for esophageal diseases has good success rates, with a lower incidence of complications than open surgery.