Modern Approach to Benign Esophageal Disease: Diagnosis and Surgical Therapy PDF

Preface

Interest in benign esophageal disease is undergoing a revival among surgeons. Factors fostering this renewed interest include the emergence of focused interest in an ever-expanding knowledge base of general surgery, the availability of modern technology that allows testing of foregut function in an ambulatory office setting, and the reduced morbidity and greater patient acceptance of surgical therapy through limited access technology.

The outgrowth of this interest has been the development of a new brand of modern surgeons. They are characterized as having a disease focus as opposed to a focus on the procedure. They understand and are skilled in the diagnosis of disease by the measurement of altered organ function rather than by the presence of an anatomic lesion. They apply surgical therapy to improve the function of an organ by altering its structure or the arrangement of its moving parts rather than extirpation of the organ. While being talented open surgeons, they have become adept in the use of the new tools of limited access surgery.

The authors of the chapters contained in this book are among such modern surgeons. In common, they have passed through our laboratories or clinical services during the acquirement of their knowledge and skills. The focus of this book is the physiologic approach to the understanding and management of esophageal disease. This is coupled with the utilization of minimally invasive thoracoscopic and laparoscopic surgery as a first option in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, esophageal motility disorders, esophageal diverticula, and benign esophageal tumors. Open surgery is reserved for the initial approach to complicated esophageal disease, reoperation of previously failed procedures, or esophageal replacement for end-stage benign disease. As such the contributions report the present status of a changing approach to the exciting field of esophageal surgery. In so doing, these authors have emerged as our critics and moved the science of esophageal surgery forward.