Five-year outcome of endoscopic laser cricopharyngeal myotomy: our experience in 10 patients

Abstract

Cricopharyngeal spasm is a failure of the cricopharyngeus muscle to relax and can be a cause of dysphagia.

Endoscopic laser cricopharyngeal myotomy with mucosal repair is associated with reduced operative times, inpatient stay and lower morbidity with favourable subjective short-term outcomes, although long-term outcomes are less well known.

In our cohort of patients, the majority had a subjectively improved swallow in the long-term although some did have regression of symptoms but remained better than pre-operatively.

Subjectively our cohort of patients appeared to favour less well in the long-term with regards to reflux symptoms, the majority fairing worse than pre-operatively at least 5 years previously.

This paper would suggest that as clinicians we can advise patients that in the long-term, laser cricopharyngeal myotomy will improve and maintain swallowing symptoms but that their reflux symptoms may be exacerbated over time.

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