Hidden in Plain Sight: Discovering Giant Cell Aortopathy During Surgical Mitral Valve Repair.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is an inflammatory cranial and/or extracranial vasculitis. Although cranial GCA is widely recognized, extracranial GCA is underdiagnosed because of its nonspecific and atypical presentations. We report a case of asymptomatic extracranial GCA with ascending thoracic aortopathy discovered incidentally during surgical mitral valve repair.

Robotic and per-oral endoscopic myotomy have fewer technical complications compared to laparoscopic Heller myotomy.

Background: Achalasia is an uncommon disease treated by decreasing the lower esophageal sphincter resting pressure. This study compared the safety and efficacy of esophago-gastric myotomy via laparoscopic, robotic, and per-oral endoscopic approaches.

Methods: A retrospective review of data on patients with achalasia or other esophageal dysmotility disorder undergoing laparoscopic, robotically assisted, or per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) procedures between 2013 and 2017 was performed.