Treatment of patients with esophageal carcinoma remains disappointing. Fewer than 20% *of patients with esophageal carcinoma treated with curative intent by surgery and radiation therapy will be alive at 5 years. Fifty five patients underwent treatment for carcinoma of the esophagus and cardia which retrospective clinical study done between January 1983, and December, 1989 in Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. There were 48 men. 7 women and the mean age was 56.2 years[range, 38 to 78 years]. The most frequent preoperative findings included dysphagia[46 cases], weight loss[33 cases] and substernal pain[19 cases]. 19 cases[34.5%] were underwent resectional surgery, which was total esophagectomy with esophagogastrostomy[ 5 cases], with colon interposition[3 cases], lower esophagectomy with esophagogastrostomy [10 cases], with total gastrectomy and esophagojejunostomy [1 case]. The operative mortality was 15.8%[3/19] and causes of death were respiratory failure in 2 cases, and 1 case of sepsis. Palliative procedures, such as feeding gastrostomy and jejunostomy[14 cases], bypass surgery without resection[ 4 cases], radiation therapy[ 3 cases] were done.