Palliation of malignant upper-third oesophageal stricture by bipolar diathermy probe

Bipolar thermocoagulation probes have been used to palliate dysphagia in six patients with an inoperable squamous cell carcinoma of the upper third of the oesophagus. Median dysphagia grade was improved following treatment, and the only serious complication was the development of a tracheo-oesophageal fistula in one patient. Bipolar thermocoagulation probes are an alternative treatment for malignant strictures of the upper third of the oesophagus, a group that may be difficult otherwise to palliate.