1.   The reported experience is mostly in patients with peptic strictures and there is little information on the efficacy and safety of this treatment in patients with corrosive oesophageal strictures.

2.   The success rate in the corrosive group was comparable with that in the peptic stricture group.

3.   The dysphagia recurrence rate during follow up was higher in the corrosive than in the peptic stricture group.

4.   This figure is comparable with the success rate in our peptic stricture patients as well as in several other reports.

5.   The recurrence rate is high initially but it falls over time and is similar to that in the peptic stricture group after three years of follow up.