Postmyotomy dysphagia after laparoscopic surgery for achalasia

Aim: To determine predictive factors for postoperative dysphagia after laparoscopic myotomy for achalasia. Methods: Logistic regression was used to investigate the possible association between the response (postoperative dysphagia, with two levels: none/mild and moderate/severe) and several plausible predictive factors. Results: Eight patients experienced severe or moderate postoperative dysphagia. The logistic regression revealed that only the severity of preoperative dysphagia (with four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and liquid) was a marginally significant (P=0.0575) predictive factor for postoperative dysphagia. Conclusion: The severity of postoperative dysphagia is strongly associated with preoperative dysphagia. Preoperative symptomatology can significantly impact patient outcome.