Laparoscopic hand-sewn cardioplasty: an alternative procedure for end-stage achalasia.

To our knowledge, this is the first published case series of laparoscopic hand-sewn cardioplasty for end-stage achalasia. It appears to be a safe and effective procedure for the treatment of end-stage achalasia, offering an alternative minimally invasive procedure to oesophagectomy. Laparoscopic hand-sewn cardioplasty can also be used as a 'rescue' procedure during myotomy in patients who have poor-quality mucosa which perforates intra-operatively or is at high risk of perforation/leaking post-operatively.