[Surgical treatment of functional disorders of the esophagus in the aged].

From 1948 to 1980, 747 patients with functional disorders of the esophagus were operated on at the First Department of Surgery of the Medical Faculty, Palacky University in Olomouc. In 177 (24%) of them, the intervention was performed at an older age. The gerontosurgical problem was especially evident in patients with esophageal diverticula of whom 40 to 51.1% were older than 60 years. In patients with paraesophageal and mixed hiatal hernias, it was 45%. However, in very complicated cases of achalasia and reflux diseases, it was also often necessary to operate older patients. The applicability of some surgical techniques and tactics in older patients has been discussed.