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[Speaker: Dr. Tony Vine.]
[Visual: Dr. Vine in his medical office speaking to the camera.]
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Many of the esophageal disorders
that I treat range from reflux disease
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
to achalasia, which is a disease
of the esophagus not being able to squeeze.
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
And many reoperative surgeries
where patients have had surgeries
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
for these various conditions and need
to have reoperative surgery because the
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
hiatal hernia has recurred, or the
surgery that was done for achalasia
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
was not necessarily adequate and not enough
muscle had been cut. So I deal with a lot of
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
esophageal benign diseases. As far as tumors,
there are growths that occur in the esophagus
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
that we can deal with laparoscopically.
There are tumors called
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
gastrointestinal stromal tumors
that can be shelled out of the esophagus.
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
Nowadays, we do pretreatment often
before we take care of those tumors.
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
We do deal with esophageal malignancy,
carcinoma of the esophagus,
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
which occurs at the junction of the stomach
or in the lower part of the esophagus.
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
So we take care of a wide variety
of esophageal diseases,
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Dr. Anthony Vine:
both benign and malignant.
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Esophageal Diverticulum
What Is An Esophageal Diverticula?
An esophageal diverticulum is a pouch that forms in the esophagus, protruding through a weak area in the esophageal lining or wall. This outpouching traps food and liquids and can lead to difficulty swallowing and other issues.
Types of Esophageal Diverticula
- Zenker’s Diverticulum – develops near the throat, in the upper part of the esophagus
- Mid-Esophageal Diverticulum – forms in the middle of the esophagus, often caused by scarring or inflammation
- Epiphrenic Diverticulum – found close to the stomach, near the lower esophagus
Esophageal Diverticulum Symptoms
- Difficulty swallowing
- Regurgitation of undigested food
- Coughing or choking, especially at night and when lying down
- Sensation of food stuck in the throat or chest
- Bad breath
What Causes an Esophageal Diverticulum?
According to Dr. Anthony Vine, esophageal diverticula may be caused by high LES pressures or previous GERD surgery where the wrap has been made too tight. The diverticulum almost always projects into the right chest on radiographic evaluation and may be confused for a hiatal hernia.
Treatment Options for Achalasia and Esophageal Diverticula
Dr. Vine has had enormous success performing laparoscopic surgery on patients with large or symptomatic esophageal diverticula with intraoperative assistance from a gastroenterologist using an endoscope. A team approach always yields the best results.
He sees patients for consultations at the Laparoscopic Surgical Center of New York located at 1010 5th Avenue in New York City.
For more on the minimally invasive surgical options visit our Laparoscopic Esophageal Surgery and Heller Myotomy page.
Dr. Anthony Vine is an Attending Surgeon and Clinical Professor of Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. His office is located at 1010 5th Avenue at the Laparoscopic Surgical Center of New York.