WVU Heart and Vascular Institute first in state to provide oral endoscopic myotomy for the treatment of esophageal dysmotility conditions

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Thoracic surgeons at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute are now offering per oral endoscopic myotomy, POEM, as a treatment for esophageal dysmotility conditions, such as gastroparesis and Zenker’s diverticulum.

WVU Medicine has offered POEM as a treatment for achalasia, a disorder that causes the esophagus to spasm and prevent proper swallowing, since 2018. WVU Medicine is the first to expand its use to treat gastroparesis (G-POEM), a disease that prevents the stomach from emptying properly, and Zenker’s diverticulum (Z-POEM), an outpouching that occurs at the junction of the lower part of the throat and the upper portion of the esophagus, making swallowing difficult. 

“These patients have chronic problems with swallowing and digestion, which can have a significant impact on their quality of life,” Ghulam Abbas, M.D., chief of Thoracic Surgery at WVU Medicine and director of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute Center of Esophageal Disease, said. “This procedure can provide results that allow the patient an improved quality of life.”

The procedure allows surgeons to perform an endoscopic myotomy, or cutting of the muscular walls of the esophagus or pyloric sphincter, through the mouth instead of robotically through the abdomen. Because the procedure does not require access through the muscles of the abdomen, patients have a much shorter recovery and are generally able to go home the same day.

For more information on the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, visit WVUMedicine.org/Heart.