Minimally Invasive Esophageal Procedures

In most instances, laparoscopy has replaced open procedures as the standard of care. Nevertheless, equipoise remains in the literature regarding the benefits of surgery compared with alternative treatment strategies such as medications in the case of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or endoscopic procedures in the case of achalasia. According to Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) guidelines published in 2010, indications for surgery include (1) failure of medical management, (2) patient preference, (3) complications of GERD (Barrett esophagus, peptic stricture), and (4) extraesophageal manifestations (asthma, hoarseness, cough, chest pain, aspiration). This chapter is organized by surgical procedure, all of which are derivatives of the laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. In this chapter, the authors focus on minimally invasive surgical approaches to the treatment of the following benign esophageal disorders: GERD, achalasia, and paraesophageal hernias. New in this chapter is the in-depth coverage of laparoscopic paraesophageal hernia repair. The majority of patients with paraesophageal hernias are asymptomatic, and their hernias are found inc