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An inquiry concerning bleeding of esophageal varices included 1076 surgical and medical departments in the Federal Republic of Germany (West). Prevailing forms of treatment are acute sclerotherapy or esophageal balloon tamponade followed by long-term sclerotherapy. In case of medically uncontrollable bleeding oesophagogastric devascularization procedures are preferred to portacaval shunt. Beta-blockers are applied in medical departments for the prophylaxis of recurrence. Only after several rebleedings, despite of sclerotherapy, approx. half of the departments consider an elective shunt. The distal splenorenal shunt described by Warren and portacaval anastomosis clearly prevail over all other shunts.

From 1968 till 1977 we observed 150 patients with carcinoma of the head of the pancreas and the ampulla of Vater. In 29% a radical operation (duodeno-pancreatectomy) could be practiced. The prognosis of carcinoma of the head of the pancreas is much less favourable in comparison to the carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater.

From 1961 to 1981, 132 patients suffering from squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus were seen at the Bad-Cannstadt-Municipal-Hospital. In 53 cases only a palliative procedure could be performed: 20 patients had tube intubation, 29 gastrostomy, only 4 an exploratory laparotomy. The mortality rate of palliative operations is a high one, postoperative complications are frequent, the mean postoperative survival time is about 4.3 months. As the method of choice, preference is given to tube intubation, gastrostomy should be no longer performed with the exception of a few special cases.