Role of videoassisted surgery in the treatment of oesophageal cancer.

The author analyses the pros and cons of the so-called minimally invasive oesophageal surgery for cancer, in the light of his own experience and the major studies reported in the surgical literature and recent congresses. He concludes that, although radical oesophagectomies are feasible on selected patients, a major oesophageal operation carried out through small parietal incisions remains an invasive procedure owing to the magnitude of the internal dissection and the relatively poor general condition of the patients. In contradistinction, both exploratory thoracoscopy and laparoscopy are very attractive alternatives to the classic tools of diagnosis and staging.