Borrmann type 4 gastric carcinoma, including linitis plastica, is difficult to detect at an early stage and the results of surgical treatment remain poor. We have used 'left upper abdominal evisceration plus Appleby's method (LUAE + Apl.)' as a radical surgical procedure for this disease. During the period 1983-86, 30 cases of Borrmann type 4 gastric carcinoma underwent this procedure (Group A). These cases were compared with 30 patients who underwent total gastrectomy with pancreaticosplenectomy (Group B) during the period 1980-82. Although this is not a randomized study and the extent of resection was greater in Group A, the operation time, amount of blood loss, and number of complications were similar for both methods. When the survival rates were compared, the 3-year survival rate in stage II-III cases was higher for Group A (83.3 per cent) than for Group B (42.2 per cent) (P less than 0.05). One patient in Group A and 12 patients in Group B died with peritoneal metastasis within 3 years of operation in stage II-III. The LUAE + Apl. method is a rational and useful technique for the surgical treatment of Borrmann type 4 gastric carcinoma.