title: Achalasia.
abstract: Endoscopic therapy for achalasia is centered on disrupting or weakening the lower esophageal sphincter. The three traditional treatment options for achalasia are surgical myotomy, pneumatic dilation, and botulinum toxin injection. Pneumatic dilation yields results that are generally better than botulinum toxin injection and may approach a clinical response comparable with surgery. Per oral endoscopic myotomy is a newer endoscopic modality that will likely change the treatment paradigm for achalasia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, NY 11501, USA. sstavropoulos@winthrop.org
authors.forename: Stavros N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Stavropoulos
authors.forename: Rani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Modayil
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Friedel
mesh_terms: D004931:Esophageal Achalasia / Q000601:surgery*; D004945:Esophagoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications