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Previous Volume 332:815-816 March 23, 1995 Number 12 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Achalasia, described by Thomas Willis in 1674, was initially treated by dilation of the lower esophagus with a whalebone. The forceful disruption of the lower esophagus by this means relieved dysphagia and other obstructive symptoms. Current procedures, pneumatic balloon dilation and surgical myotomy of the lower esophageal sphincter, mimic this earlier approach. The relative merits of these treatments have been debated without resolution for more than 40 years. Pneumatic dilation and myotomy result in long-term relief of dysphagia in 70 and 85 percent of patients, respectively.¹ In 5 percent of patients, pneumatic dilation causes esophageal perforation, requiring subsequent thoracic surgical . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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