Treatment of oesophageal carcinoma at a small rural hospital.

Twenty patients were treated for carcinoma of the mid- or lower oesophagus over a 3-year period by a general surgeon working in a small rural hospital of 165 beds. Fourteen patients underwent oesophagectomy and six had palliative intubation. There were no hospital deaths, and no anastomotic complications; immediate and longer term outcomes were similar to those reported from larger, specialist units. Acceptable results for the surgical treatment of this disorder can be obtained by a generalist working in a small peripheral unit.