Objective: To assess the success of a modified approach to external pediatric cricopharyngeal myotomy in children with inappropriate upper esophageal sphincter relaxation as determined by video fluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) and pediatric manometry findings.
Methods: This is a case series in which hospital records of all patients who underwent a modified external approach to pediatric cricopharyngeal myotomy 2017 to 2019 were reviewed at a single institution. The primary outcome measure was post-operative diet and presence of aspiration/penetration on post-operative VFSS.
Results: A total of 7 patients underwent modified external approach to pediatric cricopharyngeal myotomy. The average age of the child at the time of surgery was 5.6 (±3.7) years. The average duration (SD) of surgery was 90 (±30) minutes and no complications were observed. 6 of 7 patients (86%) demonstrated an improvement in swallow function after the procedure. The single child who did not was suffering from a posterior fossa tumor which was resected and radiated, which likely made their dysphagia multi-factorial. Although no pediatric normative data exists for upper esophageal sphincter pressure, we observed an average decrease in UES residual pressure of 8.5 (±15.1) mmHg and an average decrease in mean UES pressure of 21.2 (±35.1) mmHg.
Conclusions: The modified external approach to the pediatric cricopharyngeal myotomy appears to be a safe and efficient procedure with no apparent complications to date. However, further longitudinal data is needed to formally evaluate the efficacy of this procedure when treating pediatric cricopharyngeal achalasia.
Keywords: Aspiration; Cricopharyngeal achalasia; Cricopharyngeal myotomy; Dysphagia; Penetration.
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