The outcome of 100 patients with achalasia cardia following laparoscopic Heller myotomy with blunt dissection technique

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM) can be performed by blunt dissection technique (BDT). Only a few studies have assessed long-term outcomes and relief of dysphagia following LHM. The study reviews our long-term experience following LHM by BDT. METHODS: This retrospective study was analysed from a prospectively maintained database (from 2013 to 2021) of a single unit of the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery at G. B. Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, New Delhi. The myotomy was performed by BDT in all patients. A fundoplication was added in selected patients. Post-operative Eckardt score >3 was considered treatment failure. RESULTS: A total of 100 patients underwent surgery during the study period. Of them, 66 patients underwent LHM, 27 underwent LHM with Dor fundoplication and 7 underwent LHM with Toupet fundoplication. The median length of myotomy was 7 cm. The mean operative time was 77 ± 29.27 min and the mean blood loss of 28.05 ± 16.06 ml. Five patients had intraoperative oesophageal perforation. The median length of hospital stay was 2 days. There was no hospital mortality. The post-operative integrated relaxation pressure (IRP) was significantly lower than the mean pre-operative IRP (9.78 vs. 24.77). Eleven patients developed treatment failure, of which ten patients presented with recurrence of dysphagia. There was no difference in symptom-free survival amongst various types of achalasia cardia (P = 0.816). CONCLUSION: LHM performed by BDT has a 90% success rate. Complication using this technique is rare, and recurrence post-surgery can be managed with endoscopic dilatation.