Treatment of Achalasia

Achalasia is a primary motility disorder of the esophagus that causes dysphagia. Normal esophageal motility and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) function can not be restored; thus treatment is directed at decreasing the pressure or disrupting the muscle fibers of the LES to allow passage of ingested material. Effective therapy for achalasia can be broadly characterized as surgery based or endoscopy based. Medications (calcium channel blockers and nitrate derivatives) do not provide adequate relief of dysphagia and have substantial side effects, and thus are rarely used as long-term therapy. Botulinum toxin injection, a recently introduced endoscopic therapy, enjoyed much enthusiasm initially but was shown to have only transient effect and is now recommended only for poor operative candidates. The mainstay of therapy remains endoscopic dilation or laparoscopic esophagomyotomy (LEM) combined with an antireflux procedure. We have found that patients who can tolerate a laparoscopic abdominal surgery are best served with an LEM and Toupet (270 degrees ) posterior fundoplication. This provides good or excellent relief of dysphagia in 90% to 95% of patients with very little morbidity.