Thirteen patients who had recently bled from varices underwent oesophageal manometry. A control group of 13 asymptomatic subjects were also studied. Seven of the thirteen variceal patients had manometry before oesophageal transection and repeat manometry at least 1 month following operation. A further group of 17 post-transection patients also underwent manometry at a mean 27.6 months following operation. Comparison between variceal (13) and control subjects (13) showed that the lower oesophageal sphincter pressure, total length and length of the abdominal and proximal portions of the sphincter were similar in the two groups. Pre- and postoperative manometry (7) revealed a significant reduction in lower oesophageal sphincter pressure following transection. The total length of the lower sphincter was shorter postoperatively compared to the pre-operative length. Both the abdominal and the proximal portion of the sphincter were significantly shorter postoperatively. Comparison between post-transection group (24) and control subjects (13) showed that lower oesophageal sphincter pressure was significantly less following transection. Both total length and the length of the abdominal portion of the sphincter were significantly lower in the post-transection group.