BACKGROUND - After surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease dysphagia is a symptom in the majority of patients, with decrease in intensity over time. However, some patients may have persistent dysphagia. OBJECTIVE - The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the dynamics of water ingestion in patients with postfundoplication dysphagia compared with patients with dysphagi...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Swallowing of cold liquids decreases amplitude and velocity of peristalsis in healthy subjects, using standard manometry. Patients with achalasia and non obstructive dysphagia may have degeneration of sensory neural pathways, affecting motor response to cooling. To elucidate this point, we used high-resolution manometry. METHODS Fifteen healthy subjects, 15 non-obstructive dys...

AIM It is recommended that management of complex benign upper gastrointestinal pathology is discussed at multi disciplinary team (MDT) meetings. American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guidelines further recommend that treatment delivery is provided by high volume centres, with objective post-procedural investigations, in order to improve patient outcomes. We aimed to survey the current UK p...

The combination of esophageal achalasia with epiphrenic diverticulum is extremely rare and mostly treated surgically. Several cases successful endoscopic treatment were presented in the literature, but strategy has not yet been defined. Aim. To present a case as giant successfully endoscopically. Case report. We to your attention report 75-year-old woman complete dysphagia, significant weight l...

Idiopathic achalasia is characterized by the absence of peristalsis secondary to loss of neurons in the myenteric plexus that hampers proper relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter. Achalasia can be considered a multifactorial disorder as it occurs in related individuals and is associated with HLA class II genes, thereby suggesting genetic influence. We used microarray technology and advan...

BACKGROUND Based on Chicago Classification version 3.0, the disorders of esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction (EGJOO) include achalasia (types I, II and III) and EGJOO. Although no curative treatments are currently available for the treatment of the disorders of EGJOO, medical treatments, endoscopic pneumatic dilation (PD), laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM), and per-oral endoscopic myot...

HYPOTHESIS Laparoscopic Heller myotomy with anterior fundoplication will alleviate the symptoms of achalasia and result in excellent patient satisfaction. DESIGN Retrospective study of consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic Heller myotomy with anterior fundoplication for achalasia between October 1995 and July 1999. A telephone survey assessed symptoms and satisfaction. Patients were...

There is a need for new methods to study the dynamics of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ). The aims were to verify the efficacy and usefulness of a "functional lumen imaging probe" (FLIP) for the evaluation of the EGJ. Eight healthy volunteers (6 men), median age 26 (21-35) yr, and two achalasia patients underwent the FLIP procedure. The EGJ was located by manometry. The FLIP measured eight c...

Histological changes in the Auerbach's plexuses of the oesophagus, stomach, jejunum, and colon were analysed in a prospective study in 34 patients with achalasia of the oesophagus. At the distal end of the oesophagus ganglia cells were absent in 91% of cases as well as in the middle third of the stomach (20%). The Auerbach's plexuses were normal in the jejunum and colon. The results of gastric ...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The motility change after peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) in achalasia is currently focused on lower esophageal sphincter (LES). This study aims to investigate the correlation of motility response between distal and proximal esophagus after POEM. METHODS A total of 32 achalasia patients who received POEM and high-resolution manometry (HRM) were included for analysis. Eckardt...