Post-Surgical Quality of Life, Psychological State and what Patients Think about the Effectiveness of Heller Myotomy in the Treatment of Achalasia

Authors

  • Telma Vale-Fonseca Faculty of Medicine. University of Porto. Department of General Surgery. Hospital of São João. Porto.
  • Luis Ferreira-Pinto Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu. Viseu. Center for Health Technology and Services Research – CINTESIS. Porto. Department of Health and Decision Sciences – CIDES. Faculty of Medicine. University of Porto. Porto.
  • Margarida Figueiredo-Braga Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health. Faculty of Medicine. University of Porto. Porto.
  • Silvestre Carneiro Faculty of Medicine. University of Porto. Porto. Department of General Surgery. Hospital of São João. Porto.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.6758

Keywords:

Anxiety, Depression, Digestive System Surgical Procedures, Esophageal Achalasia, Laparoscopy, Quality of life.

Abstract

Introduction: The disruption of esophageal motility that characterizes achalasia typically provokes dysphagia, pain, loss of weight and malnutrition. Therefore, patients frequently report a reduction in quality of life and negative emotional states. Laparoscopic Heller myotomy proved to be an effective therapy, enabling the resumption of good quality of life.
Material and Methods: The authors studied 45 patients previously submitted to laparoscopic Heller myotomy. Postoperative evaluation was performed using a customized version of the achalasia disease-specific quality of life questionnaire. Quality of life and the presence of depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Portuguese versions of the Medical Outcomes Study SF-36 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
Results: Thirty-one patients responded to the survey. Dysphagia was the main clinical symptom before surgery. A clear improvement in dysphagia, regurgitation, pain and weight loss was found after surgery (p < 0.001). The Mental Health domain of SF-36 presented a Pearson correlation coefficient of -0.689 with HADS-D and of -0.557 with HADS-A (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively).
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the Heller myotomy is associated with a good quality of life in patients with achalasia and strengthens the evidence that this is a safe and reliable procedure.

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Published

2016-02-29

How to Cite

1.
Vale-Fonseca T, Ferreira-Pinto L, Figueiredo-Braga M, Carneiro S. Post-Surgical Quality of Life, Psychological State and what Patients Think about the Effectiveness of Heller Myotomy in the Treatment of Achalasia. Acta Med Port [Internet]. 2016 Feb. 29 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];29(2):107-13. Available from: https://actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/6758

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Original