Visible endoscopic and histologic changes in the cardia, before and after complete Barrett's esophagus ablation.

Background: Adverse events associated with the thermal ablation of Barrett's esophagus (BE) include the generation of gastric mucosa buried beneath the neosquamous regrowth, and unrecognized development and growth of adenocarcinomas. No reports exist regarding the endoscopic appearance and histology of the cardia before and after BE ablation. The aim of our study was to assess the relative frequency of the occurrence of visible endoscopic and histologic changes in the cardia, before and after complete BE ablation.