[Preoperative modern evaluation of patient with esophageal stenosis]

It is well known the difficulty of a precise evaluation in the pretherapeutic stage of any esophageal pathology, especially that of obstructive lesions. Preoperatory information should be as accurate as possible, any evaluation error leading to surgical manoeuvres that can later be regretted. From the current practice one can easily observe that there is no typical exploratory protocol, each having its own specific limits, high costs that are not negligible, and some of them are not always immediately available. It is obvious that para-clinic approach has changed, due to technological progress that has increased the accuracy of medical information, but has also increased costs. The standard protocol has lead to a retrospective analysis of the esophageal obstruction cases that were hospitalized in the Sf Maria Clinic of Surgery, during 1981-2002, regarding diagnostic algorythm and treatment used.