Achalasia: Year of the Zebra

Achalasia comes from the Greek for without loosening. Every bite of your favorite food travels through your esophagus into your stomach. As you can imagine, an esophageal tube that does not loosen cannot allow much through. Progressively increasing difficulty swallowing is among the most common early symptoms. A surgery called myotomy where the distal sphincter muscle of the esophagus is cut might be needed to improve function. Follow the link to the dedicated Osmosis video.