HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Virginia R. Litle Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Litle, V. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Litle, V. R. Related Collections Minimally invasive surgery

---

Supplement: The Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery Summit

Laparoscopic Heller Myotomy for Achalasia: A Review of the Controversies

Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York

^_* Address correspondence to Dr Litle, Division of Thoracic Surgery, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, 1190 Fifth Ave, Box 1028, New York, NY 10029-6574 (Email: virginia.litle{at}mountsinai.org).

Presented at the Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery Summit, New York, NY, June 8–9, 2007.

Achalasia is a rare primary motility disorder of the esophagus with a United States prevalence of less than 0.001%. Laparoscopic modified Heller myotomy has become the standard of care for palliation of this incurable but benign disease. The role of a fundoplication with the myotomy continues to be controversial. This report summarizes the current laparoscopic management of achalasia with a review of the medical literature on the outcome of combining a fundoplication with a laparoscopic myotomy. The optimal length of myotomy as suggested in the literature is also summarized. To complete the goal, peer-reviewed publications were identified in PubMed by search terms achalasia, myotomy, fundoplication, Nissen, Dor, and Toupet.