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Query: UMLS:C0014848 (achalasia)
 2,804 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The lower esophageal sphincter pressure has been measured intraoperatively in 200 patients with gastroesophageal reflux and in three patients with achalasia. Lower esophageal sphincter pressure is measured before and during repair. Calibrating the cardia during performance of the median arcuate posterior gastropexy allows a sphincter pressure between 50 and 57 mm. Hg to be obtained at operation. The postoperative pressures have ranged between 15 and 25 mm. Hg, or approximately half of the intraoperative pressure. No patient with a spincter pressure of 15 mm. Hg or greater has reflux according to postoperative pH and pressure studies. Correction of reflux correlates well with relief of symptoms. Three patients with achalasia had intraoperative manometrics during myotomy. The lower esophageal sphincter pressure was lowered and the length of the lower esophageal sphincter was shortened. Dysphagia was corrected without producing reflux. This is the first report of measurement of lower esophageal sphincter pressure in anesthetized patients. Intraoperative measurement of sphincter pressure is a safe, simple, and reliable technique which allows the surgeon, for the first time, to determine the status of the lower esophageal sphincter during the operation. This technique should be standard for all operations on the gastroesophageal junction.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1978 Mar
PMID:Intraoperative measurement of lower esophageal spincter pressure. 2 82

Achalasia of the esophagus is an unusual lesion in childhood and is quite rare under the age of one year. The case of a 3-month-old child with esophageal achalasia treated with a Heller esophagomyotomy is illustrated. Seven previously documented cases of achalasia in children under the age of one year are reviewed and the difficulties of diagnosing this lesion in childhood are discussed.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1976 Nov
PMID:Infantile achalasia. Brief clinical report. 97 22

Among 156 patients with achalasia who were treated during a 13 year period, two developed squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The first, a 33-year-old man, developed a carcinoma of the upper third of the esophagus 2 years after the onset of symptoms of achalasia. He was treated by a Heller myotomy and radiation therapy and survived 16.7 months. The second, a 60-year-old man, had had symptoms of achalasia for 15 years. He is alive with suspected recurrence 6 months after undergoing esophagogastrectomy for a carcinoma of the middle and lower thirds. A summary of the literature regarding carcinoma complicating achalasia is presented. This indicates that carcinoma arises in at least 1 to 7 per cent of patients with achalasia. Delay in diagnosis is common. The treatment need not differ from that of carcinoma without a chalasia, but the prognosis is dismal. Since there is evidence that retention esophagitis is a premalignant condition, it should be possible to prevent the development of carcinoma in achalasia by early cardiomyotomy in cases in which hydrostatic dilatation is not completely effective. A plea is made for closer surveillance of patients with achalasia so that, if carcinoma supervenes, it may be detected at an early stage.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1975 Mar
PMID:The association of carcinoma of the esophagus with achalasia. 111 27

Twenty-four patients underwent combined Collis-Belsey reconstruction of the esophagogastric junction. The primary indication for operation in 19 patients was gastroesophageal reflux. Three patients had achalasia, one diffuse spasm, and one an incarcerated combined sliding and paraesophageal hernia. Postoperatively, symptoms were relieved in all 19 patiients undergoing repair for gastroesophgeal reflux with or without peptic strictures of the esophagus, and barium swallows showed no gastroesophageal reflux. Preoperative average mean and peak pressures in the distal esophageal high pressure zone (HPZ) were 1.38 and 2.72 mm. Hg, respectively; two thirds had no measurable HPZ. Postoperative mean and peak pressures were 6 and 12.36 mm. Hg, respectively; average HPZ length was 2.81 cm. Of 19 patients with massive reflux preoperatively, postoperative acid reflux testing demonstrated no reflux in 14 and minimal to moderate reflux in five. Collis-Belsey reconstruction ot the esophagogastric junction effectively relieves symptoms and controls the complications of gastroesophageal reflux.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1976 Feb
PMID:Collis-Belsey reconstruction of the esophagogastric junction. Indications, physiology, and technical considerations. 124 55

Long-term results are presented in 60 patients (4 to 50 years old) who underwent a diaphragmatic graft procedure for relief of cardiospasm (achalasia) from 1962 through 1987. The operative technique involves construction of a pedicle flap of diaphragm. The muscular defect on the lower segment of the esophagus and the transplanted diaphragmatic pedicle that is sutured to the defect must be the same size. Immediate operative results were good. Only one complication developed, a case of pneumonia that was cured. The patients were followed up from 11 months to 25 years. Two patients were lost to follow-up, 55 had excellent results, and three patients still had nausea and heartburn but were better than before the operation. This procedure has three advantages: (1) It prevents the development of fistulas and diverticula at the site of the esophageal muscular defect; (2) it effectively eliminates both restenosis resulting from scar tissue and reflux esophagitis; and (3) it allows the cardia to recover its normal function and the esophagus to return to normal size at the site of the operation.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1989 Apr
PMID:Treatment of esophageal achalasia (cardiospasm) with diaphragmatic graft. Twenty-five years' experience. 292 62

A case is presented in which oesophageal achalasia combined with epiphrenic diverticulum caused severe and progressive symptoms, including gross nutritional disturbance. Resection of the diverticulum and esophagomyotomy gave an excellent result.
Scand J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1988
PMID:Oesophageal achalasia combined with epiphrenic diverticulum. A case report. 313 60

We evaluated the use of total thoracic esophagectomy and replacement with stomach in a group of 21 patients between 1976 and 1986 who had undergone multiple unsuccessful esophageal operations. All patients had between one and four unsuccessful operations for benign esophageal disorders. Sixteen patients had primary motor disorders: achalasia in nine and esophageal spasm in seven. Of these patients, 11 also had recurrent gastroesophageal reflux and peptic esophagitis. Complicated reflux disease characterized by severe esophagitis, stricture, and impaired peristalsis without primary motor disorder occurred in five patients. In one patient a functionally impaired long-segment colon interposition was removed and replaced with stomach. Total thoracic esophagectomy and cervical esophagogastric reconstruction was done in all patients. The transhiatal approach was chosen for resection in 16 patients and thoracotomy was used in the other five. There was one perioperative death (5%), from massive aspiration 4 days after transhiatal esophagectomy. Other complications included transient anastomotic leak (three patients), tracheoesophageal fistula (one), recurrent nerve palsy (one), and transient hoarseness (two). Follow-up is complete between 1 and 10 years and reveals the following functional results: 12 patients good to excellent, seven fair, one poor. In this patient group in which multiple prior procedures have failed to improve severe incapacitating symptoms, we believe further attempts at hiatal reconstruction are unlikely to succeed. For this circumstance, we recommend total thoracic esophagectomy with the use of stomach as the replacement organ of choice.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1988 Mar
PMID:Esophagectomy for complex benign esophageal disease. 334 48

Forty-six patients with esophageal achalasia required reoperation between January 1970 and January 1986. Three of these patients required a second reoperative procedure, for a total of 49 reoperations. Indications for reoperation were inadequate myotomy, 17; gastroesophageal reflux, 14; concomitant antireflux operation, six; incorrect diagnosis, four; carcinoma of the esophagus, four; megaesophagus, three; and paraesophageal hernia, one. Various procedures were employed at the time of reoperation, including revision of the myotomy, takedown or revision of a previously performed wrap, fundoplication, and resection. Of the 48 patients available for follow-up study over an average postoperative period of 5 years, the condition of 38 (79%) was considered to have been improved by reoperation. The best results were obtained by revision or takedown of a previous wrap (an improvement rate of 88.9%) and radical resective procedures (89% to 100%). We conclude that for good results to be achieved after reoperative achalasia procedures, the preoperative diagnosis must be accurate, the operation should be performed early before the development of megaesophagus, and a short but complete esophagomyotomy must be performed, preferably without the addition of an antireflux procedure. Elimination or revision of a previously performed fundoplication can be expected to be followed by good results. The precise indications for radical resective procedures have yet to be defined clearly, but their wider application to carefully selected patients with postoperative achalasia seems justified.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1986 Nov
PMID:Reoperative achalasia surgery. 377 41

Between January, 1970, and January, 1984, 113 patients with esophageal achalasia underwent 115 esophagomyotomies at the Lahey Clinic. Twenty-nine patients had been treated on one or more occasions by forceful dilation, and 18 had been operated upon before. Results are based on follow-up studies of 103 patients operated on 1 to 13.5 years ago (average follow-up period, 6.75 years). Six patients were lost to follow-up study, and six were operated upon less than a year ago. The condition of 94 patients (91%) was improved by operation. The improvement rate was 94% for those who underwent a primary operation and 76% for those who underwent reoperation. Only four of the nine poor results were caused by reflux esophagitis, and these patients are satisfactorily managed medically. Multiple regression analysis of risk factors including age, sex, duration of symptoms, severity of disease, length of follow-up, previous operation, and forceful dilations revealed that only previous operation correlated significantly with poor results (p = 0.0004). Preoperative and postoperative manometric assessment of the lower esophageal sphincter was made on some of these patients. The amplitude of lower esophageal sphincter pressure dropped from 32.5 +/- 1.6 (SEM) to 14.5 +/- 1.4 mm Hg, and the length of the lower esophageal sphincter decreased from 3.7 +/- 0.1 to 2.2 +/- 0.1 cm. These differences were highly significant (p = 0.001). After myotomy a short subhiatal remnant of the lower esophageal sphincter remains with pressure within the normal range, which minimizes the risk of postoperative gastroesophageal reflux. Because of the high success rate of limited esophagomyotomy and the low incidence of significant reflux symptoms after its use, we recommend that it be performed without an associated antireflux procedure.
J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1984 Sep
PMID:Operation for esophageal achalasia. Results of esophagomyotomy without an antireflux operation. 647 85

An unusual case of congenital lower oesophageal diaphragm (web) associated with achalasia is described. An 18-year-old nulliparous girl presented with severe cachexia and aphagia following progressive dysphagia. A barium swallow demonstrated the achalasia, and the oesophageal diaphragm with a central pinhole opening was seen at endoscopy. Parenteral hyperalimentation was required for ten weeks prior to surgery. Circumferential excision of the oesophageal diaphragm in conjunction with Y-V advancement oesophagoplasty gave a good result.
Scand J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1984
PMID:Lower oesophageal diaphragm and achalasia in an adult. An unusual association. 652 77


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