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Achalasia: Clinical Presentation and Evaluation

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Foregut Surgery

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Abstract

Although esophageal achalasia is a rare disease, it represents the most common primary esophageal motility disorder. It is characterized by a manometric pattern showing loss of esophageal peristalsis and partial or absent relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) in response to swallowing. Consequently, there is abnormal emptying of food from the esophagus into the stomach resulting in stasis. Most patients experience severe dysphagia and regurgitation that can lead to aspiration and respiratory problems and weight loss. As a consequence, the quality of life of patients with achalasia is severely affected. The diagnosis of achalasia can be challenging due to nonspecific symptoms and therefore a proper work-up is necessary to establish the diagnosis before starting treatment.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Marco Di Corpo & Francisco Schlottmann

  2. Department of Surgery, Hospital Alemán of Buenos Aires, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Francisco Schlottmann

  3. Department of Surgery, Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Marco G. Patti

  4. Department of Medicine, Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Marco G. Patti

Authors
  1. Marco Di Corpo
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  2. Francisco Schlottmann
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  3. Marco G. Patti
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Correspondence to Marco G. Patti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Marco G. Patti

  2. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Marco Di Corpo

  3. University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Francisco Schlottmann

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Di Corpo, M., Schlottmann, F., Patti, M.G. (2020). Achalasia: Clinical Presentation and Evaluation. In: Patti, M., Di Corpo, M., Schlottmann, F. (eds) Foregut Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27592-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27592-1_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-27592-1

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