Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013:2013:708327.
doi: 10.1155/2013/708327. Epub 2013 Nov 18.

Surgical treatment for achalasia of the esophagus: laparoscopic heller myotomy

Gonzalo Torres-Villalobos  1 , Luis Alfonso Martin-Del-Campo  2
Affiliations
Review

Surgical treatment for achalasia of the esophagus: laparoscopic heller myotomy

Gonzalo Torres-Villalobos et al. Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2013.

Abstract

Achalasia is an esophageal motility disorder that leads to dysphagia, chest pain, and weight loss. Its diagnosis is clinically suspected and is confirmed with esophageal manometry. Although pneumatic dilation has a role in the treatment of patients with achalasia, laparoscopic Heller myotomy is considered by many experts as the best treatment modality for most patients with newly diagnosed achalasia. This review will focus on the surgical treatment of achalasia, with special emphasis on laparoscopic Heller myotomy. We will also present a brief discussion of the evaluation of patients with persistent or recurrent symptoms after surgical treatment for achalasia and emerging technologies such as LESS, robot-assisted myotomy, and POEM.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Blunt dissection for myotomy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Myotomy extent proximal and distal to the LES.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Creation of an anterior partial fundoplication after myotomy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gockel I, Sgourakis G, Drescher DG, Lang H. Impact of minimally invasive surgery in the spectrum of current achalasia treatment options. Scandinavian Journal of Surgery. 2011;100(2):72–77. - PubMed
    1. Vaezi MF, Pandolfino JE, Vela MF. ACG clinical guideline: diagnosis and management of achalasia. American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2013;108(8):1238–1250. - PubMed
    1. Pandolfino JE, Kwiatek MA, Nealis T, Bulsiewicz W, Post J, Kahrilas PJ. Achalasia: a new clinically relevant classification by high-resolution manometry. Gastroenterology. 2008;135(5):1526–1533. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Williams VA, Peters JH. Achalasia of the esophagus: a surgical disease. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2009;208(1):151–162. - PubMed
    1. Bello B, Herbella FA, Patti MG. Evolution of the minimally invasive treatment of esophageal achalasia. World Journal of Surgery. 2011;35(7):1442–1446. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources