Gender differences in both the pathology and surgical outcome of patients with esophageal achalasia.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Esophageal achalasia is a relatively rare disease that occurs usually in middle-aged patients. The laparoscopic Heller-Dor (LHD) procedure is the gold-standard surgical treatment for esophageal achalasia. There are many studies on the pathology and surgical outcome of esophageal achalasia from various perspectives, but there are no studies on gender differences in both the pathology and surgical outcome. AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate gender differences in the surgical outcome with the LHD procedure and in the pathology of esophageal achalasia patients. METHODS: The study included 474 LHD-treated patients who were postoperatively followed up for 6 months or more. The patients were divided into 2 groups by gender, to compare the preoperative pathology, surgical outcome, symptom scores before and after LHD, symptom score improvement frequency, and patient satisfaction with the surgery. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 248 male and 226 female, having a mean age of 45.1 years. There were no gender differences in the preoperative pathology, but a significantly lower BMI (p < 0.0001) and a smaller esophageal dilation (p = 0.0061) were observed in the female group. The frequency and severity of chest pain before the surgery were significantly higher in the female group (p = 0.0117 and p = 0.0103, respectively), and the improvement in both the frequency and severity of chest pain was significantly higher in the female group (p = 0.0005 and p = 0.003, respectively). No differences were identified in the surgical outcomes and postoperative course. The patient satisfaction with the surgery was high in both groups and comparable (p = 0.6863). CONCLUSIONS: The female patients with esophageal achalasia were characterized by low BMI, less esophageal dilation, and increased frequency and severity of chest pain. LHD improved the chest pain in the female patients, whereas the surgical outcome and satisfaction with the surgery were excellent regardless of gender.