What to Expect with Heller Myotomy

What to Expect: Heller Myotomy

Our Esophagus Center experts perform Heller myotomy using laparoscopy. This minimally invasive technique uses a camera and tiny instruments that we insert through a series of small incisions in your stomach.

As an established minimally invasive surgery program, we treat a high volume of patients. This helps us perform Heller myotomy with a level precision and efficiency that leads to fewer complications and a faster recovery.

If Heller myotomy is right for you, here’s what to expect:

1. We give you general anesthesia, meaning you are asleep and not able to feel any sensation during your procedure.
2. We make up to five two-centimeter incisions above your belly button.
3. We fill your abdomen with carbon dioxide gas, which makes it easier for us to move surgical instruments around and gives us a clear view of the surgical area.
4. We access your esophagus through the incisions and carry out your procedure with a video camera and specialized instruments.
5. During the procedure, we precisely divide the muscle layers in your esophagus to access stiffened tissue and make small cuts in it (myotomy) to relieve pressure. We take great care to avoid cutting healthy tissue.
6. To keep your myotomy open and to lower your risk for gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) after surgery, we may also wrap tissue from the upper end of your stomach (fundus) around and behind your esophagus (Heller myotomy fundoplication).
7. You can expect to stay in the hospital overnight.
8. The next day we perform a special X-ray test (barium esophagram) to examine your esophagus while you drink a special liquid.
9. You may need to eat a diet of soft foods while your esophagus heals. Our Nutrition Services experts will help you find the right foods to eat.