Surgical management of posterior pharyngeal pulsion diverticula: inversion versus one-stage excision

At present one-stage excision of the posterior pharyngeal pulsion diverticulum is the most popular method of treatment in the UK and the USA. We have reviewed 53 patients who have presented to this unit between 1968 and 1986, to compare the results of different surgical techniques. Of these, 21 underwent excision and myotomy, 20 inversion and myotomy, and 9 myotomy alone. The results show that the mortality for the whole group was 4 per cent, but there were no deaths in either the inversion or myotomy group. The excision group had a complication rate of 52 per cent, compared with 30 per cent for inversion, and also had more major problems such as fistula. Median hospital stay was shorter for inversion than for excision, at 7 and 10 days respectively. In summary we believe that inversion of the posterior pharyngeal pulsion diverticula is now the surgical treatment of choice.