title: Current status of minimally invasive endoscopic management for Zenker diverticulum.
abstract: Surgical resection has been the mainstay of treatment of pharyngoesophageal (Zenker) diverticula over the past century. Developments in minimally invasive surgery and new endoscopic devices have led to a paradigm change. The concept of dividing the septum between the esophagus and the pouch rather than resecting the pouch itself has been revisited during the last three decades and new technologies have been investigated to make the transoral operation safe and effective. The internal pharyngoesophageal myotomy accomplished through the transoral stapling approach has been shown to effectively relieve outflow obstruction and restore physiological bolus transit in patients with medium size diverticula. Transoral techniques, either through a rigid device or by flexible endoscopy, are gaining popularity over the open surgical approach due the low morbidity, the fast recovery time and the fact that the procedure can be safely repeated. We provide an analysis of the the current status of minimally invasive endoscopic management of Zenker diverticulum.
authors: Alberto Aiolfi, Federica Scolari, Greta Saino, Luigi Bonavina, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Division of General Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, University of Milan, 20097 San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Aiolfi
authors: Alberto Aiolfi, Federica Scolari, Greta Saino, Luigi Bonavina, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Division of General Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, University of Milan, 20097 San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
authors: Federica
authors: F
authors: Scolari
authors: Alberto Aiolfi, Federica Scolari, Greta Saino, Luigi Bonavina, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Division of General Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, University of Milan, 20097 San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
authors: Greta
authors: G
authors: Saino
authors: Alberto Aiolfi, Federica Scolari, Greta Saino, Luigi Bonavina, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Division of General Surgery, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, University of Milan, 20097 San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Bonavina
keywords: Cricopharyngeal myotomy; Diverticulectomy; Endoscopic stapling; Interventional flexible endoscopy; Zenker diverticulum