Achalasia is a disorder of the esophagus, the tube connecting the mouth and stomach. With achalasia, the esophagus has trouble moving liquid and solids down to the stomach. This movement is called peristalsis. Also, the muscle between the esophagus and stomach (the lower esophageal sphincter) does not relax after swallowing. Achalasia may occur at any age but is more common in older people. It cannot be prevented....

Esophageal varices are blood vessels in the esophagus (the tube that carries food to the stomach). Under normal circumstances, these blood vessels carry very small amounts of blood. If the liver is damaged, and the main vein ( portal vein) that carries blood is blocked, larger amounts of blood might back up into these esophageal varices. The esophageal varices are too fragile for this extra blood flow and pressure. They may swell and then break, causing life-threatening bleeding ( hemorrhage)....

This is an endoscopic procedure (a procedure that uses a device like a flexible telescope) that allows your caregiver to view the upper stomach and small bowel. This test allows your caregiver to look at the esophagus. The esophagus carries food from your mouth to your stomach. They can also look at your duodenum. This is the first part of the small intestine that attaches to the stomach. This test is used to detect problems in the bowel such as ulcers and inflammation....

GERD (acid refl ux disease) occurs when stomach acid fl ows up into the esophagus (the tube connecting the mouth with the stomach). The stomach can handle stomach acid, but the throat and esophagus can’t. As a result, stomach acid in these areas may cause damage. To some extent, everyone has acid refl ux. Normal refl ux usually happens after meals, is brief and without symptoms, and rarely happens during sleep. Normal refl ux becomes GERD when symptoms occur frequently (generally at least two or three times a week) or the esophagus becomes damaged....

A laparoscopic Heller's myotomy and anti-reflux procedure is used for treating achalasia . Achalasia is an uncommon condition of the esophagus. The esophagus is the food tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. In this condition, the lower esophageal sphincter (the small muscular layer around the bottom of the esophagus) does not relax. The sphincter is the muscle that keeps the food in the stomach. Also in this condition, the esophagus does not contract in the normal way. This means it does not move the food along normally from the mouth to the stomach....

The esophagus is the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. A Mallory-Weiss tear is a tear in the tissue lining the esophagus, called the mucous membrane. It often occurs near the place where the esophagus joins the stomach. Most people with this tear are men who are often heavy alcohol users. Women and children can also have it....

Mediastinoscopy is a procedure in which a small incision (cut by the surgeon) is made over the notch near the top of the sternum (the chest bone between your ribs). The finger of the surgeon is used to bluntly dissect down to the area which is to be examined by a small instrument similar to a small telescope ( mediastinoscope)....

A diverticulum is a pouch or sac that opens from a hollow organ such as the esophagus. The esophagus is the tube connecting the mouth with the stomach. Zenker’s diverticulum can occur anywhere in the esophagus but is usually found in the upper part. The lining of the esophagus pushes backward, so some food stays in the pouch rather than moving down into the stomach. Zenker’s diverticulum is rare, occurring in less than 0.01% of the population. It’s found more often in women than in men, usually those 60 years old or more. This disorder can be associated with hiatal...

The esophagus is the part of the digestive tract that connects the mouth with the stomach. Esophageal cancer is a cancerous (malignant) tumor of this tube. Most of these cancers occur in the lower part of the esophagus. More than 10,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States every year....