Achalasia

Description

It is a rare disorder in the esophagus that can appear at any age and which affects both men and women equally
Its main feature is that the esophagus cannot properly relax and push meals to the stomach and moreover, given the absence of relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter (where the esophagus and the stomach meet) which blocks the correct transit of food towards the stomach.

Symptoms

The main one is the feeling that when eating, food stops in the middle of our chest.  This feeling appears sporadically at the beginning and aggravates as the disease progresses also affecting liquids.
Another important symptom is the regurgitation of undigested meal when lying or eating; thoracic pain, heartburn and involuntary weight loss.

Treatment

It is aimed at reducing the pressure and increasing the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter so food may transit more easily towards the stomach. Medical treatment consists in the intake of drugs to relax the sphincter muscular tissue or in the injection of botulinum toxin, although these are only temporary treatments not applicable to all patients. Another possible treatment is the endoscopic extension of the esophageal sphincter by the introduction of an inflated balloon where the esophagus and the stomach meet. The patients is sedated and with radiologic control during the whole process. If this procedure is not enough, the next step is surgery. Surgical treatment to treat achalasia is known as esophagomyotomy and consists in the denervation (reduction of the nervous structure) of the last 5 to 10 centimeters of the esophagus reducing the pressure of the area so food and liquids can pass through the esophagus to the stomach without problem.

See video about achalasia