Zenker's and epiphrenic diverticula in a patient with cutis laxa: should the surgical technique be modified?

Abstract

Currently, most of esophageal diverticula arise as the result of a pulsion effect. Some esophageal motor disorders increase the intraluminal pressure and after some time, the diverticula grow through a weak point of esophageal wall. In these cases, the surgical treatment of choice is the myotomy associated with diverticulopexy or diverticulectomy. Adding a fundoplication is accepted to avoid the consequences of gastroesophageal reflux after myotomy in the epiphrenic diverticula surgery. There are other causes of esophageal diverticula that change the resistance of esophageal wall. Cutis laxa, a congenital or acquired connective disease, is a strange one. In our patient, a good result was reached modifying the standard technique accord to its ethiopathogenic mechanism.