Dear ISDE, AUGIS or AEC member:

We are circulating a brief questionnaire on the use of “cardioplasty” in the treatment of “End Stage Achalasia”.
This second part of the survey aimed to surgeons that have performed a cardioplasty for end-stage achalasia contains questions related to the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative data of the patients of your personal series and the surgical technique used.

Please find below a short summary of the project.

With many thanks for your participation,

Alberto Isla, Fatima Senra, Ismael Diaz del Val, Salvador Morales, Giovanni Zaninotto, Sheraz Markar.


Summary:

Background: Primary achalasia is a rare oesophageal motor disorder characterized by the absence of swallow-induced relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter and of peristalsis along the oesophageal body. Around 5% of these patients will develop end-stage achalasia, a situation where the oesophagus is non-functional and massively dilated, adopting a sigmoid shape. Treatment of end-stage achalasia is a challenging situation. Oesophagectomy is advocated in some of these patients, with significant morbidity and mortality. Cardioplasty is a safe alternative to oesophagectomy in end – stage achalasia. The creation of an oesophago – gastrostomy allows an appropriate oesophageal emptying even in the presence of poor motility.



Methods: This study comprises an international survey and a multicentric retrospective cohort study under the auspices of the Imperial College London. The international survey will interview members of three scientific societies (ISDE, AEC, AUGIS) with the primary aim of establishing the awareness of this technique among the members. The multicentric study will be conducted only with the members that have already performed cardioplasty for end stage achalasia.



Aims: The primary aim of the cohort study is to assess the short and long term results of the patients that undergo cardioplasty for end-stage achalasia. The secondary aims of the study are to assess the variability of the surgical technique and how widespread is this operation.

Timeline of the study: The first questionnaire (Cardioplasty for end-stage achalasia: Part 1) will be distributed via email to the members of the chosen surgical societies from August 2020 to September 2020. Surgeons interested in taking part in the study must contact the researchers during this period in order to receive the second questionnaire (Cardioplasty for end-stage achalasia: Part 2). Data will be collected from October 2020 to November 2020 and further analysed to evaluate the practice of cardioplasty and the clinical results.