Items tagged “achalasia”

Pseudoachalasia (a.k.a. secondary achalasia) is an achalasia-pattern dilatation of the esophagus due to the narrowing of the distal esophagus from causes other than primary denervation. One of the most common causes is malignancy (often submucosal gastric cancer) with extension in the lower esop...

Per-oral esophageal myotomy (POEM) is a natural orifice endoscopic surgery that has been gaining increasing use as an alternative to traditional oesophageal myotomies (e.g. Heller myotomy and Nissen fundoplication). With this technique, the endoscopist insufflates the esophagus with CO2 then cr...

The timed barium esophagogram (TBO) is a simple physiologic assessment and objective method for assessing the esophageal emptying used in patients with suspected achalasia and to evaluate and follow up patients who have been treated with myotomy or pneumatic dilatation1,3. Technique Several te...