Hybrid Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Achalasia with Prior Treatment Failure

Achalasia is a neurodegenerative motility disorder caused by enteric neuron damage in the lower esophageal sphincter. Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a standard treatment method for achalasia. Previous treatment modalities may affect the outcome of POEM as they cause submucosal fibrosis. We report a new technique called "hybrid POEM" for the treatment of patients with achalasia who had been previously treated with pneumatic balloon dilatation. We performed two techniques of POEM simultaneously, the standard POEM for the upper part of the submucosal tunnel and open POEM for the stenotic part of the esophagogastric junction. We dissected the mucosa and submucosa, and performed myotomy simultaneously. We overcame submucosal fibrosis of the esophagogastric junction, which was caused by the previous hybrid POEM treatment. The risks of mucosal incision and technical challenge of submucosal tunneling for the fibrotic area may be reduced by hybrid POEM.