Peroral endoscopic myotomy for the treatment of achalasia in a patient with esophageal varices. A case report.

Achalasia is very uncommon, and rarely does achalasia co-exist with esophageal varices. We present a 62-year-old woman who was diagnosed with both achalasia and esophageal varices in December 2014 and had a past history of hematemesis. The patient's achalasia symptoms' Eckardt score was 9, and her hepatic function was Child-Pugh grade A6. After comprehensive assessment of the patient's health and discussion of the pros and cons of various therapies for achalasia, the patient underwent a peroral endoscopic myotomy. She was symptom-free after the operation and had no recurrence of achalasia symptoms at 20-month follow-up. No adverse events were reported. Peroral endoscopic myotomy for achalasia with esophageal varices has not been previously reported in the English literature.

[1]  J. Pandolfino,et al.  Achalasia: a systematic review. , 2015, JAMA.

[2]  M. Ujiki,et al.  Peroral endoscopic myotomy: A short-term comparison with the standard laparoscopic approach. , 2013, Surgery.

[3]  S. Rana,et al.  Achalasia cardia associated with esophageal varices: a therapeutic dilemma , 2013, Annals of gastroenterology.

[4]  Rajesh Gupta,et al.  Achalasia cardia with esophageal varix managed with endoscopic ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin injection , 2011, Indian journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology.

[5]  G. Alcain-martinez,et al.  Treatment of achalasia with botulinum toxin injection guided by endoscopic ultrasonography in a patient with esophageal varices. , 2011, Revista espanola de enfermedades digestivas : organo oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Patologia Digestiva.

[6]  N. Narawane,et al.  Laparoscopic Heller's cardiomyotomy in cirrhosis with oesophageal varices , 2010, Journal of minimal access surgery.

[7]  C. D. Smith,et al.  Endoscopic Therapy for Achalasia Before Heller Myotomy Results in Worse Outcomes Than Heller Myotomy Alone , 2006, Annals of surgery.

[8]  T. Schiano,et al.  Achalasia in a Patient with Gastroesophageal Varices: Problematic Treatment Decisions , 2006, Digestive Diseases and Sciences.

[9]  M. Reichelderfer,et al.  Innervation of an esophageal ectatic submucosal blood vessel in achalasia and a comparison with normals. , 1994, The American journal of gastroenterology.

[10]  D. J. Glotzer,et al.  Achalasia of the esophagus complicated by varices and massive hemorrhage. , 1973, The New England journal of medicine.