One hundred and sixty two laparoscopic fundoplications were performed between may 1991 and december 1993 by the first author. No perioperative death was observed. There were 4 intraoperative complications (3%): 1 gastric perforation, 2 pleural perforations and 1 liver laceration. There were 3 conversions to laparotomy: 2 for left liver hypertrophy and 1 for needle holder defect. The duration of the operation ranged from 40 minutes to 5 hours (median 120 minutes). The median postoperative stay was 2 days. Five postoperative complications occurred: 2 cases of pneumonia and 3 cases necessitating second-look laparatomy (1 necrosis of the valve, 1 small bowel perforation and 1 obstruction due to migration of the entire stomach into the chest). The follow-up ranges from 4 to 897 days (median 10 months). Long-term complications were: one recurrence of heartburn reoperated laparoscopically and two cases of long-term postoperative dysphagia.