A manometric examination of the oesophagus was carried out before and after selective proximal vagotomy according to Hedenstedt in 20 patients in whom operations were performed at the Dept. of Surgery of the Steglitz Medical Center within the period from 1980 to 1982. The resting pressure of the lower oesophageal sphincter could be shown to be unaltered postoperatively (preoperative median 17,5 mm Hg, postoperative 18 mm Hg, p greater than 0,1 non-significant). Likewise, the other manometric findings were normal and postoperatively unaltered. Thus, it was possible to demonstrate that the modification of the vagotomy according to Hedenstedt has no other effect on oesophageal motility than that already known for other types of selective proximal vagotomy.