Breakthrough Treatment for Severe Achalasia: A Story of Ms. Lien’s Transoral Endoscopic Resection

Ms. Lien, a 63-year-old woman, has been struggling with choking for the past decade, with her symptoms worsening in the last three years. She has difficulty eating and breathing, and has lost a significant amount of weight, down to only 30 kg. After being diagnosed with achalasia by her doctor, gastroscopy results at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City revealed that her esophagus was dilated and had lost the ability to stretch the cardia, the lower esophageal sphincter.

On May 17th, Dr. Do Minh Hung, Director of the Center for Digestive Surgery and Endoscopy, identified Ms. Lien’s condition as severe type 2 achalasia. This rare disease results from the progressive degeneration of ganglion cells in the esophageal plexus, causing the lower esophageal sphincter to not relax and leading to food stagnation. The doctor prescribed transoral endoscopic resection of the lower esophageal sphincter (Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy – POEM) for treatment.

The procedure involved creating a submucosal tunnel in the esophagus and upper stomach to cut the lower esophageal muscle and improve Ms. Lien’s swallowing ability. Despite the difficulty of the procedure due to her severely dilated esophagus, it was successful