This book sets out to illustrate the key steps in some of the commoner procedures in pulmonary and oesophageal surgery. Each chapter deals with one operation. It was always our intention that the emphasis should be on detailed illustrations of the various stages of each operation. The text is of secondary importance, serving to provide continuity and to guide the reader through the illustrations. The techniques outlined are those which have evolved in our practice over the years and are therefore the result of varied influences and personal experience. Where an individual surgeon's name is attached to an operative technique we make no claim to describe the procedure exactly as that surgeon would have performed it, and it would perhaps have been more accurate to describe the technique as being "in the style of ...... ". We would wish to apologise in advance to any surgeon who feels that we have not accurately depicted his technique or have deviated from it in any important respect.