BACKGROUND/AIMS Per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a minimally invasive endoscopic treatment option for patients with achalasia and has been performed since 2010. It is less invasive than Heller myotomy and its use is spreading rapidly worldwide. We present our results of POEM that, to the best of our knowledge, are the first cases in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS We enrolled patients betw...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Laparoscopic Heller cardiomyotomy for the treatment of achalasia can be performed safely. The application of this minimally invasive approach has not been reported in Taiwan. This study assessed the results obtained using this new method in Taiwanese patients. METHODS From January 1998 to December 2000, we recruited 10 patients (3 men, 7 women; average age 37.3 yr) with...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Laparoscopic Heller myotomy with antireflux procedure is considered to be a standard treatment for achalasia. Recently, peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) was developed and performed on patients with achalasia. However, there is no report on POEM use in South Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical feasibility of POEM in a porcine model. METHODS POEM was perf...

A 54-year-old woman sought clinical consultation because of a > 27-year history of dysphagia. She had an Eckardt score of 13 and was diagnosed with sigmoid-type achalasia (S2 type, type II) based on esophageal motility testing, upper endoscopy, barium esophagography, and clinical presentations. We investigated a technique of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) performed directly without a submuco...

Despite several advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of achalasia, treatment remains palliative as the neuronal defect of the disease seems to be irreversible. Currently, the most effective treatment options are graded endoscopic pneumatic dilation and laparoscopic Heller myotomy with partial fundoplication. Although both treatments seem to have similar efficacy in the short-ter...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has evoked both fascination and controversy since its first modern description 50 years ago.1 Originally described as “functional aortic subvalvar stenosis” by Brock, the majority of articles about HCM in the ensuing first decade emanated from observations made in the operating room or in the cardiac catheterization laboratory.1 The actual cause of left ventric...

Achalasia Cardia is a rare neurodegenerative disorder of esophagus resulting in defective peristalsis and impaired relaxation of lower esophageal sphincter. The exact etiopathogenesis of achalasia is not known. Achalasia is associated with significant morbidity and impaired quality of life. The standard of care in patients with achalasia has been pneumatic balloon dilatation and laparoscopic he...