Assessment of surgical innovation is complex. This is especially true in esophageal surgery owing to difficulties in interpreting pathophysiology, staging malignant tumors with accuracy, and standardizing and tailoring the available surgical procedures to the individual patient. This book introduces the general and the thoracic surgeon to the latest developments in esophageal surgery; in each chapter the reader will find a concise background analysis of the topic in question and a state of the art review of diagnosis and treatment. The indications for surgery and the rationale for use of...