Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction and Esophageal Diverticulum

A Complete Title Used for Approval Letters. Cervical Diverticulum Prospective, Multi-Institutional Study Proposal

Patients undergoing open transcervical or endoscopic approach in which a laser or stapler is used to divide the common wall between the diverticulum and esophagus, or who are not surgical candidates but agree to follow-up.

A prospective, multi-institutional study comparing the effectiveness of the above procedures will provide a large cohort using standardized diagnostic studies, diverticulum size measurements, treatment approaches, pre-operative and post-operative assessment of symptoms in order to both compare the effectiveness of the procedures and to stratify the patients in order to determine whether demographics such as age, pre-operative size, and/or peri-operative co-morbidities influence outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with a diagnosis of cervical esophageal diverticulum, with Zenker's as most common, or CP bar (with diagnosis of early Zenker) as indicated on an esophagram who the participating institutions enroll regardless of surgical management and future treatments. Patients undergoing open transcervical or endoscopic approach in which a laser or stapler is used to divide the common wall between the diverticulum and esophagus, or who are not surgical candidates but agree to follow-up.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who undergo division of the common wall between the diverticulum and esophagus using flexible endoscopy will not be included in the study.