Minimally invasive Heller's myotomy in children: safe and effective

Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to review a single institution experience of minimally invasive Heller's myotomy in pediatric patients with achalasia. Methods An institutional review board-approved retrospective review from 1999 to 2005 identified patients 18 years old and younger who...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pediatric surgery 2009-05, Vol.44 (5), p.909-911
Main Authors: Askegard-Giesmann, Johanna R, Grams, Jayleen M, Hanna, Angela M, Iqbal, Corey W, Teh, Swee, Moir, Christopher R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achalasia
Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Esophageal Achalasia - surgery
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Fundoplication - methods
Gastroesophageal Reflux - prevention & control
Gastroesophageal Reflux - surgery
Heller's myotomy
Humans
Intraoperative Complications
Laparoscopic
Laparoscopy - methods
Male
Minimally invasive
Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures
Pediatric
Pediatrics
Retrospective Studies
Surgery
Treatment Outcome
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to review a single institution experience of minimally invasive Heller's myotomy in pediatric patients with achalasia. Methods An institutional review board-approved retrospective review from 1999 to 2005 identified patients 18 years old and younger who underwent a minimally invasive Heller's myotomy for achalasia. Results Twenty-six patients were identified with a mean age of 15 (range, 4-18 years). There were 11 female and 15 male patients. There were 3 intraoperative complications (2 esophageal mucosal injuries and 1 aspiration). There was no mortality. All 26 surgeries were completed laparoscopically. Two patients had Dor fundoplication, whereas 23 patients had Toupet fundoplication. Average length of hospital stay was 2.7 days (range, 1-4 days) excluding the 3 patients with intraoperative complications and 3.5 days for all patients (range, 1-17 days). Postoperative follow-up ranged from 0 to 75 months (mean, 20 months). Postoperatively, one patient developed reflux symptoms (incidence 4%). Seven patients (27%) had recurrence of symptoms at a mean of 13 months (range, 1-66 months) after their operation. Conclusions Laparoscopic Heller's myotomy with fundoplication is a safe and effective treatment of symptomatic achalasia in the pediatric population. Complications were low in this group of patients and comparable to other published reports in the literature.
ISSN:0022-3468
1531-5037
DOI:10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2009.01.022