A review of the different designs for palliative oesophageal intubation tubes confirms Souttar's original suggestion that they should be flexible, incompressible, non-traumatic, compact, have an adequate lumen and stay in place. The internal diameter should be at least 10 mm. The thickness of the wall should be about 1 mm. The length will vary according to the stricture and should be as short as possible, provided that the proximal rim prevents future longitudinal growth occluding the lumen. Various methods of achieving the ability to stay in place are described, which comprise either a large proximal rim or a roughened barrel. No details about results are given because the original patient populations vary so much. Success probably depends more on the technical expertise and experience of the surgeon than specific variations in design.