Heller’s Cardiomyotomy
Heller’s Cardiomyotomy is operation performed for a condition called Achalasia. In this condition, the muscle at the lower end of the oesophagus (foodpipe) is overly thick and overly tight. This causes patients with this disorder to have problems with eating and drinking normally.
For the procedure Heller’s Cardiomyotomy, the tight muscle at the lower end of the oesophagus is divided, which allows this part of the oesophagus to widen therefore allowing food and fluid to more easily pass into the stomach.
This operation is performed by keyhole surgery.
After surgery most patients will have a substantial improvement in their swallowing symptoms. This happens very quickly after the operation. Swallowing of food may not return completely to “normal” but the types of food which can be eaten, the time it takes to eat and the ease with which food can be eaten are all much better.
Our surgeons have had extensive training in laparoscopic (keyhole surgery) Heller’s myotomy and are very experienced with this technique. They have helped many patients with the sometimes terrible symptoms from achalasia.
