Although pneumatic dilation is an accepted method for the treatment of achalasia, this therapy has high recurrence and complication rates, and prolonged follow-up studies on the parameters associated with various outcomes are rare. In this prospective 10-year follow-up study, a satisfactory therapeutic effect was achieved without serious complications. We report the therapeutic experience with pneumatic dilation, having aimed to evaluate the long-term clinical safety and efficacy of pneumatic dilation.In total, 35 consecutive patients with idiopathic achalasia who underwent pneumatic dilation were followed up at regular intervals in person or by a phone interview over a 10-year period. The mean duration of the follow-up was 43.0326.34 months (range 6-120 months). Remission was assessed by the dysphagia classification and symptom scores. Patients' clinical symptom scores were calculated before and at 6 to 36months, 37 to 60months, and >60months after therapy. The influence of the patients' age, gender, and disease duration on the therapeutic effect was analyzed.The success rate of the operation was 97.2% (35/36), without massive hemorrhaging, perforation or other serious complications. Dysphagia after the therapy was significantly eased (P<0.01). In total, 35 patients have been followed up for 6 to 36months after therapy, 21 cases for 37 to 60months, and 5 cases for >60months, and the patients' symptom scores separately decreased significantly compared with the pretherapy scores (P<0.01). For these patients, the 6 to 36months remission rate was 85.7% (30/35), the 37 to 60months rate was 61.9% (13/21), and the >60months rate was 40% (2/5). The dilation effect had no relationship to the patient's age, gender, and disease duration (P>0.05). The patients in 30 cases (85.7%) were successfully treated with a single dilation, in 4 cases (11.4%) with 2 dilations, and in 1 case (2.9%) with 3 dilations.These results suggest that endoscopic pneumatic dilation is an achalasia therapy with a good response; it is a simple and safe procedure with long-term clinical effectiveness. It is a preferred method in the treatment of achalasia.
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