ArticleAnnals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England2024
Robotic Heller's cardiomyotomy for achalasia: early outcomes for a high-volume UK centre.
Article in Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Robotic versus laparoscopic anti-reflux and hiatal surgery in a uk benign upper gi unit: perioperative outcomes in a four-year observational study.Journal of robotic surgery · 2026Observational
- Initial experience of benign upper gastrointestinal robotic-assisted surgery: first 200 cases and early postoperative outcomes.Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · 2025Article
- Robotic Heller Myotomy for Achalasia: A Narrative Review of the State-of-the-Art Technique and Its Future Directions.Cureus · 2025Review
- Efficacy of laparoscopic cardiectomy combined with side overlap anastomosis for the treatment of terminal achalasia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The impact of robotic surgery on the treatment of benign esophageal and gastric disease: early experience of a specialized unit.Journal of robotic surgery · 2024Article
- State-of-the-Art Surgery in Achalasia.Visceral medicine · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionHeller's cardiomyotomy (HCM) is the gold standard treatment for achalasia. Laparoscopic HCM has been shown to be effective with low rates of symptom recurrence, though oesophageal mucosal perforation rates remain high. The aim of this prospective case series is to assess the short-term complication rates and perioperative outcomes for the first cohort of patients undergoing robotic-assisted HCM for achalasia in a single high-volume UK centre.
methodsData were collected from a prospective cohort of patients who underwent robotic HCM at a single high-volume UK centre. Outcomes were assessed using the Eckhard score, which was calculated after their routine postoperative clinic appointments.
resultsThirteen patients underwent robotic HCM during the study period; this is the second largest reported case series in the European literature. There were no intraoperative oesophageal perforations. Six patients were discharged as day cases, six patients were discharged on the first postoperative day and one patient's hospital stay was two nights. There was a single perioperative complication of urinary retention. All patients reported improvement of symptoms following their operation, and all had a postoperative Eckhard score of less than 3, indicating their achalasia was in remission.
conclusionsThis cohort has demonstrated that robotic HCM has an exceptional safety profile and results in high levels of symptom resolution, even early in the learning curve. The robotic approach may be superior to laparoscopy as it allows more precise identification and dissection of the oesophageal muscle fibres, which likely reduces the risk of inadvertent mucosal damage or incomplete myotomy.
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