永田 英俊

A 66-year-old male patient visited our hospital with the chief complaints of difficulty in swallowing and vomiting. The upper gastrointestinal radiographic contrast study revealed a diverticulum with a diameter of about 10 cm in the diaphragm to the right of the esophagus. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed the inlet of the diverticulum on the right wall of the esophagus at a distance of 44-46 cm from the incisors. The patient was diagnosed as having a giant epiphrenic esophageal diverticulum with obstruction dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter was also considered. Therefore, he was treated by laparoscopic resection of the diverticulum, followed by Heller myotomy and Dor fundoplication. The postoperative course was satisfactory, and the patient showed substantial improvement in his dysphagia. He was discharged from our hospital on the 9th postoperative day. At present, 2 years after the operation, he remains well without any recurrence of the symptoms. © 2008 Japan Esophageal Soceity and Springer.