Heller Myotomy for Achalasia: Quality of Life Comparison of Laparoscopic and Open Approaches

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Abstract

Background:

Achalasia is a relatively rare disorder with a variety of treatment options. Although laparoscopic Heller myotomy has become the surgical treatment of choice, little data exist on the overall quality of life of patients undergoing this technique versus standard open approaches.

Methods:

We prospectively evaluated all patients surgically treated for achalasia by a single surgeon. Laparoscopic Heller myotomy consisted of a long (≥ 6 cm) esophageal cardiomyotomy extending at least 2 cm onto the gastric cardia, with a concomitant Dor fundoplication. Patients were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively for symptoms and quality of life using the SF-36, a standardized, generic quality of life instrument.

Results:

A total of 23 patients were surgically treated: 15 patients had a planned laparoscopic procedure, with 3 conversions; 8 had planned open procedures. Dysphagia resolved in 20 of 21 patients, with 1 patient in the laparoscopic group requiring reoperation due to an inadequate gastric myotomy. Compared with preoperative scores, a statistically significant improvement occurred in the general health domain of the SF-36 (70 to 82, P = 0.04). Compared with that in patients undergoing open surgery, the laparoscopic group had better scores in the domains of physical functioning and bodily pain.

Conclusions:

Laparoscopic Heller myotomy has comparable success to open Heller myotomy, and causes less early detriment to quality of life. This should be the primary treatment in all fit surgical patients with achalasia.

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Most cited references 21

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The MOS 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): III. Tests of data quality, scaling assumptions, and reliability across diverse patient groups.

C A McHorney, J E Ware, J Lu … (1994)

The widespread use of standardized health surveys is predicated on the largely untested assumption that scales constructed from those surveys will satisfy minimum psychometric requirements across diverse population groups. Data from the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) were used to evaluate data completeness and quality, test scaling assumptions, and estimate internal-consistency reliability for the eight scales constructed from the MOS SF-36 Health Survey. Analyses were conducted among 3,445 patients and were replicated across 24 subgroups differing in sociodemographic characteristics, diagnosis, and disease severity. For each scale, item-completion rates were high across all groups (88% to 95%), but tended to be somewhat lower among the elderly, those with less than a high school education, and those in poverty. On average, surveys were complete enough to compute scales scores for more than 96% of the sample. Across patient groups, all scales passed tests for item-internal consistency (97% passed) and item-discriminant validity (92% passed). Reliability coefficients ranged from a low of 0.65 to a high of 0.94 across scales (median = 0.85) and varied somewhat across patient subgroups. Floor effects were negligible except for the two role disability scales. Noteworthy ceiling effects were observed for both role disability scales and the social functioning scale. These findings support the use of the SF-36 survey across the diverse populations studied and identify population groups in which use of standardized health status measures may or may not be problematic.

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Achalasia. A morphologic study of 42 resected specimens.

J Goldblum, R. Whyte, M Orringer … (1994)

Achalasia is characterized by failure of relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter and absence of progressive peristalsis in the esophageal body. Few data are available regarding the morphologic features of achalasia, in particular its histologic progression. The esophagi of 42 patients with achalasia treated with total thoracic esophagectomy were examined histologically in order to systematically identify morphologic features of clinically unresponsive achalasia and to determine what could be learned about the disease's evolution. In all cases, myenteric ganglion cells within the esophageal body were markedly diminished, with 20 specimens having none. Twenty specimens had residual ganglion cells in the proximal esophagus, and 15 specimens had a few randomly distributed ganglion cells in the mid- and distal portions of the esophagus. Inflammation within myenteric nerves, present in all cases, generally consisted of a mixture of lymphocytes and eosinophils, occasionally with plasma and mast cells. Focal replacement of myenteric nerves by collagen occurred in all cases, and there was almost complete replacement in several cases. Actual destruction of the residual ganglion cells was not seen. The resected esophagi also shared extramyenteric morphologic features. Some features probably stemmed from physiologic obstruction, such as muscular hypertrophy, mainly of the muscularis propria (all cases), with secondary degeneration and fibrosis (29 cases), and eosinophilia of the muscularis propria (22 cases). Other changes, probably resulting from chronic stasis of ingested materials in the lumen, included diffuse squamous hyperplasia (all cases), lymphocytic mucosal esophagitis (28 cases), lymphocytic inflammation of the lamina propria and submucosa with prominent germinal centers (all cases), and submucosal periductal or glandular inflammation with complete loss of submucosal glands in half of the cases. One patient had high-grade squamous dysplasia, and another had superficially invasive squamous cell carcinoma. A third group of changes was probably due to previous esophagomyotomy, including abnormal gastroesophageal reflux, as shown by pH reflux testing (13 cases) and Barrett's mucosa (four cases). In one case of Barrett's there was low-grade dysplasia. Clinically unresponsive, surgically resected achalasia has almost total loss of ganglion cells, and widespread destruction of myenteric nerves has already occurred. The only active component is myenteric inflammation. However, it cannot be determined whether this inflammation is a manifestation of ongoing nerve destruction or whether it is a secondary phenomenon.

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Botulinum toxin for achalasia: long-term outcome and predictors of response.

P Pasricha, R. Rai, W Ravich … (1996)

Botulinum toxin injection into the lower esophageal sphincter of patients with achalasia results in effective short-term relief of symptoms. The aims of this study were to examine the long-term outcome of these patients and to determine the predictors of response to this therapy. Thirty-one patients with achalasia treated with botulinum toxin were followed up prospectively for a median duration of 890 days. Twenty-eight patients improved initially, but only 20 patients had sustained improvement beyond 3 months; the latter patients were classified as responders. The response rate was greater in patients older than 50 years of age (82% vs. 43% in younger patients; P = 0.03) and in patients with vigorous achalasia (100% vs. 52% with classic achalasia; P = 0.03). Duration of illness, previous dilation, and baseline radiological characteristics did not influence outcome. Nineteen responders eventually had relapse after a median duration of 468 days (range, 153 - 840 days). Fifteen of these patients received a second injection with satisfactory results obtained in the majority of patients. Botulinum toxin is an effective treatment for achalasia in about two thirds of patients, with a duration of response averaging 1.3 years. Age and type of achalasia seem to be important predictors of response.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): JSLS

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): JSLS

Journal ID (hwp): jsls

Journal ID (pmc): jsls

Journal ID (publisher-id): JSLS

Title: JSLS : Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons

Publisher: Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (Miami, FL )

ISSN (Print): 1086-8089

ISSN (Electronic): 1938-3797

Publication date (Print): Jul-Sep 2001

Volume: 5

Issue: 3

Pages: 227-231

Affiliations

Division of General Surgery, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan

Author notes

Address reprint request to: Vic Velanovich, MD, Division of General Surgery, K-8, Henry Ford Hospital, 2799 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48202-2689, USA. Fax: (313) 916-7354

Article

PMC ID: 3015449

PubMed ID: 11548827

SO-VID: c6ebba7c-db98-433b-b1d2-389259361de1

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/), which permits for noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not altered in any way.

Heller Myotomy for Achalasia: Quality of Life Comparison of Laparoscopic and Open Approaches

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Abstract

Background:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusions:

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Karger: Gastroenterology

Most cited references 21

The MOS 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): III. Tests of data quality, scaling assumptions, and reliability across diverse patient groups.

Achalasia. A morphologic study of 42 resected specimens.

Botulinum toxin for achalasia: long-term outcome and predictors of response.

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