SEGMENTAL MOTOR ABNORMALITIES OF THE DISTAL ESOPHAGUS

Patients with chest pain and/or dysphagia may present non-specific mot or abnormalities that do not fit into classical categories of primary motor disorders. Two such patients are described, both with segmental aperistalsis of the distal oesophagus and with fairly normal proximal motility and LES function. Delayed radionuclide oesophageal transit wa s noted in both cases. Medical treatment was only partially effective and one patient required pneumatic dilatation. The aperistaltic segmen ts have remained unchanged over 3-4 year follow-ups. These patients ac count for less than 1 % of all those diagnosed with oesophageal motor abnormalities in our hospital in the last ten years.