Achalasia: a 13-year, single-centre experience comparing endoscopic balloon dilatation and laparoscopic Heller myotomy.

Background: Idiopathic achalasia is a non-curable, primary motility disorder of the oesophagus. Most established long-term palliative treatment options are laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM) and endoscopic balloon dilatation (BD).

Aim: We aimed to compare the outcome of both therapies and the risk of serious complications, defined as perforation or death, in a single-centre series.

Primary oesophageal malignant melanoma.

Introduction: Primary oesophageal malignant melanoma is an extremely rare disease. While this aggressive tumour is generally considered to have a dismal prognosis, long-term survival can be achieved by radical resection in selected cases.

Conclusions: We report two cases of primary oesophageal malignant melanoma treated with Ivor-Lewis oesophagogastrectomy and review the literature.

Diaphragmatic hernias complicating pregnancy.

Background: Diaphragmatic hernias complicating pregnancy are not a common problem but they can have catastrophic consequences. They can present to the surgeon as a life-threatening emergency or pose a management dilemma when detected incidentally. In this paper, recommendations for the management of non-hiatal maternal diaphragmatic hernias are made based on our experience and the available published reports.