From Heller to POEM (1914-2014): A 100-Year History of Surgery for Achalasia

The year 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of Dr. Heller's description of the surgical treatment of patients with achalasia with a cardiomyotomy. This 100-year-old operation, which is today performed laparoscopically with the addition of a partial fundoplication, is considered the treatment of choice for patients with achalasia. Our goals are to revisit the accounts from the beginning of the twentieth century in which surgeons tried to identify the pathophysiology of achalasia and proposed several operative techniques and to follow the evolution of the surgical treatment until modern days.