Palliative Procedures for the Treatment of Carcinoma of the Esophagus

The importance of careful selection of the therapeutic plan for a given case of esophageal carcinoma is emphasized. There must be on the part of the physician and surgeon a willingness and ability to modify a given plan should unfavorable situations exist or arise. There will continue to be many cases in which major curative or palliative resections cannot be done, either because of the general physical condition of the patient or because of the non-resectability of the esophageal growth. In these cases, other procedures of lesser magnitude than a resection can and should be used.

Longer survival and more comfort to a greater number of patients can result from making proper choices of the curative and palliative technics now available for treatment of carcinoma of the esophagus. The patient who is discharged from the hospital with a gastrostomy, who either has been refused esophageal therapy or has been given an exploratory operation without having deglutition re-established, has not been afforded the best medical care.