title: Esophageal motility impairment--the cause or consequence of gastroesophageal reflux disease?
abstract: There are at least three, well-known, different groups of motor activity disturbances of the upper part of alimentary tract which can induce the development of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and enlarge the risk of excessive exposure of the esophageal mucous membrane on gastric juice and/or biliary contents. Most important is insufficiency of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which causes gastroesophageal reflux at 50-60% of patients suffering from GERD. Other reasons include impairment of stomach function (increase of intra-gastric pressure, late emptying and/or hypersecretion), and impairment of esophageal clearance. The question: does motility impairment of the esophagus occur primary or secondary to the gastroesophageal reflux, is still not enough clarified. Motor activity of the esophagus before and after the antireflux operation was prospectively assessed in 57 patients. Motility of the esophagus was determined by estimation: the efficacy of LES, general motor activity of the body of the esophagus and motor activity of the body during the reflux episodes, basing on 24-h manometry. Comparison of general pre- and postoperative data revealed significantly positive influence of Nissen-Rossetti fundoplication on improvement of motor activity of the esophagus, but the results differed in relation to the height of the measurements. Moreover comparison of the data during gastroesophageal reflux episodes revealed negative changes of the manometric parameters in the upper and middle esophagus. We conclude that post-operative improvement of esophageal motility confirms the secondary dysfunction in the peristalsis, connected with pathological reflux. However, lack of the complete normalization in motor activity after operation suggests that disorder may partially occur as primary impairment of motor activity or as the secondary dysfunction, which is fixed in the course of GERD.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of General Surgery, University School of Medicine in Lublin, Staszica 16, 20-081 Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wallner
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zgodziński
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Skoczylas
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Misiuna
mesh_terms: D015154:Esophageal Motility Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D018662:Fundoplication; D005764:Gastroesophageal Reflux / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans