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Query: UMLS:C0034067 (emphysema)
 11,506 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The authors review the literature about the pathogenesis -still unknown- of Zenker's diverticulum as well as their experience of endoscopic treatment of this disease. From 1964 till 1988, they have treated endoscopically 507 patients, 323 by electrocoagulation, 184 by CO2-laser. The endoscopic procedure is described, consisting in precise division of the tissue bridge between the oesophagus and the diverticulum by micro-endoscopic surgery under general anesthesia. In recent years, the CO2-laser was found preferable, since it may cause less tissue necrosis and consequently less fibrous scar tissue. The results were very favourable, with more than 99% of the patients satisfied. Although many patients were old and in poor condition, only one patient died two days after operation because of cardiac failure. Complications such as bleeding, emphysema, mediastinitis and stenosis were seen in 5% of the patients, but in most cases there complications were mild and conservative therapy was sufficient. Stenosis occurred in 8 patients treated by electrocoagulation and in none of the patients treated by laser. Microendoscopic surgery is a safe and efficient method of therapy for the hypopharyngeal diverticulum.
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PMID:Pathogenesis and endoscopic treatment of the hypopharyngeal (Zenker's) diverticulum. 212 49

Zenker's diverticulum (ZD) is a common cause of dysphagia in the elderly. Many symptomatic elderly are poor candidates for surgery and/or ear, nose and throat treatment. The author's first experiences with gastroscopic treatment by cutting the Zenker bridge to allow an overflow have recently been published. Only patients with contraindications for general anesthesia were accepted to the pilot group. However, the author now treats all ZD patients in this manner. One hundred and twenty-five patients (male to female ratio 1. 6) were referred for treatment from 1993 to 1997. After introduction of the gastroscope into the esophagus, a nasogastric tube was positioned to treat a ZD bridge with a height of less than 1 cm. The ZD bridge was divided by argon plasma coagulation, if necessary, in combination with monopolar forceps, Savary dilator and/or precut needle. All patients received antibiotics, topical anesthesia to the throat, if necessary, and intravenous midazolam, if possible. Radiography was performed after treatment. Normalization of the diet was allowed when the x-ray showed no signs of leakage. All patients referred for treatment were treated successfully. The median age was 77 years (range 41 to 100 years). Symptomatic improvement was seen in all patients after treatment. Complications included subcutaneous emphysema (n=17), mediastinal emphysema (n=5) and bleeding (n=2). One patient (95 years of age) died in her nursing home 27 days after treatment due to massive pulmonary embolism. The thirty-day mortality rate was otherwise zero. Three patients had been previously treated by surgeons and 12 by ear, nose and throat physicians, without sufficient improvement; all were adequately treated by the author. The mean number of treatment sessions was 1.8. This approach seems safe and effective. Treatment of every patient was possible and was carried out, even in patients in very poor condition, without general anesthesia.
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PMID:Zapping Zenker's diverticulum: gastroscopic treatment. 1037 71

The management of Zenker's diverticulum remains controversial, as both external and endoscopic procedures are potentially associated with post-operative complications and risks. The endoscopic approach is based on cricopharyngeal myotomy or myectomy by laser, cautery or stapling. A retrospective chart review has been made from December 1994 to April 2009 of all patients with Zenker's diverticulum treated by endoscopic cricopharyngeal myectomy using CO(2) laser at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery of the University of Brescia, Italy. Of the 28 patients (19 males, 9 females; mean age, 64 years; range, 46-95) scheduled for the trans-oral procedure, 27 (96%) were endoscopically treated. Diagnosis was based on the patient's history, flexible fiberoptic examination of the larynx, hypopharynx, and oesophagus, and videofluoroscopy with barium. Exclusion criteria included severe medical co-morbidities, impossibility to endoscopically expose the diverticulum, and small (< 2 cm) or large (> 6 cm) diverticula. The endoscopic procedure was performed using a CO(2) laser to section the cricopharyngeal muscle and remove the posterior part in order to obtain partial myectomy. Major complications occurred in 2 (7%) patients. No cases of recurrent nerve paralysis, pharyngo-cutaneous fistula, neck emphysema, post-operative bleeding, mediastinitis or aspiration pneumonia were observed in the present series. A swallow survey was obtained by telephone: 85% of patients reported improved swallowing (without symptoms in 11 and with moderate dysphagia in 7). Based on the present series, endoscopic CO(2) laser cricopharyngeal myectomy for Zenker's diverticulum can be considered an effective and safe procedure, with reduced hospitalization time and complication rate.
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PMID:Endoscopic treatment of Zenker's diverticulum by carbon dioxide laser. 2055 66

Surgical intervention is the gold standard of treatment for Zenker's diverticulum. The aim of this study was to examine the role of laser surgery in a large number of patients with this pathological entity. The data of 91 consecutive patients treated due to Zenker's diverticulum with the aid of CO2 laser in three institutions (Homburg/Saar and Marburg, Germany/Athens, Greece) during the last 10 years were retrospectively analyzed. Parameters examined were sex, age, preoperative symptoms, length of operation and complications, revision surgery necessity and degree of patient satisfaction. All patients had a minimum follow-up of one year. Dysphagia was the most common preoperative symptom (78 %). The most common minor complication was dental injury (6.6 %), but a serious complication in form of emphysema was observed in only two patients (2.2 %). A surgical revision was necessary in 8 (8.8 %) of the treated patients. The majority of treated patients was free of symptoms (86.8 %), or presented mild symptoms (9.9 %) one year after intervention, and only three patients (3.3 %) were dissatisfied. Our study shows that laser treatment of Zenker's diverticulum is an efficient operative technique associated with low complications rates and significant improvement of patients' symptoms in most of the examined cases.
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PMID:Laser surgery for Zenker's diverticulum: European combined study. 2556 45