title: Repeated Surgical or Endoscopic Myotomy for Recurrent Dysphagia in Patients After Previous Myotomy for Achalasia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Surgical myotomy of the lower esophageal sphincter has a 5-year success rate of approximately 91 %. Peroral endoscopic myotomy can provide similar results for controlling dysphagia. Some patients experience either persistent or recurrent dysphagia after myotomy. We present here a retrospective analysis of our experience with redo myotomy for recurrent dysphagia in patients with achalasia.
  
  
  METHODS
  From March 1996 to February 2015, 234 myotomies for primary or recurrent achalasia were performed in our center. Fifteen patients (6.4 %) had had a previous myotomy and were undergoing surgical redo myotomy (n = 9) or endoscopic redo myotomy (n = 6) for recurrent symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients presented at a median of 10.4 months after previous myotomy. Median preoperative Eckardt score was 6. Among the nine patients undergoing surgical myotomy, three esophageal perforations occurred intraoperatively (all repaired immediately). Surgery lasted 111 and 62 min on average (median) in the surgical and peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) groups, respectively. No postoperative complications occurred in either group. Median postoperative stay was 3 and 2.5 days in the surgical and POEM groups, respectively. In the surgical group, Eckardt score was <3 for seven out of nine patients after a mean follow-up of 19 months; it was <3 for all six patients in the POEM group after a mean follow-up of 5 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A redo myotomy should be considered in patients who underwent myotomy for achalasia and presenting with recurrent dysphagia. Preliminary results using POEM indicate that the technique can be safely used in patients who have undergone previous surgical myotomy.
authors.affiliation: Upper GI Surgery, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, IRCCS, Rozzano, Italy. uberto.fumagalli@humanitas.it.
authors.forename: Uberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fumagalli
authors.affiliation: Digestive Surgery, San Raffaele University Hospital, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosati
authors.affiliation: Upper GI Surgery, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, IRCCS, Rozzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Pascale
authors.affiliation: Upper GI Surgery, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, IRCCS, Rozzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porta
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, IRCCS, Rozzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carlani
authors.affiliation: Radiology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, IRCCS, Rozzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pestalozza
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, IRCCS, Rozzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Repici
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D004724:Endoscopy; D004931:Esophageal Achalasia / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D049630:Esophageal Sphincter, Lower / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Achalasia; Dysphagia; Laparoscopic myotomy; Peroral endoscopic myotomy