HYPOTHESIS There is general agreement that a Heller myotomy should extend 6 to 7 cm above the gastroesophageal junction. Results of most previous studies have recommended that the myotomy extend 1 to 1.5 cm below the gastroesophageal junction. We speculated that the effectiveness of the operation could be improved if a longer, 3-cm myotomy was carried out below the gastroesophageal junction, as...

BACKGROUND & AIMS A history of high body mass index (BMI) is associated strongly with a risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). We investigated whether gastroesophageal reflux is involved in this association. METHODS We analyzed data from a population-based Swedish nationwide study of patients with a new diagnosis of EAC (n = 189) or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (n = 262), and ma...

Gastric volvulus is an uncommon clinical entity. There are three types of gastric volvulus; organoaxial, mesenteroaxial and combined type. This condition can lead to a closed-loop obstruction or strangulation. Traditional surgical therapy for gastric volvulus is based on an open approach. Here we report a successful case of a patient with chronic gastric volvulus with a laparoscopic treatment. ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Smooth muscle tumors of the stomach, especially when benign, are a common clinical entity and can represent a therapeutic challenge. Classically the removal of such a tumor requires open laparotomy. We sought to perform this surgery utilizing minimally invasive technology. METHODS We describe a minimally invasive technique combining laparoscopy with endoscopy to remo...