Laser treatment of pharyngeal pouch.

The symptoms of pharyngeal pouch become more troublesome, eventually requiring surgical treatment. Excision of the pouch and cricopharyngeal myotomy through a neck incision was the operation of choice until Dohlman described endoscopic diathermy operative treatment 30 years ago. The diathermy technique has been largely superseded by endoscopic microsurgical division of the cricopharyngeus muscle in the party wall using carbon dioxide laser. This operation is now established as a precise, accurate and safe procedure providing reliable relief of symptoms with minimal risk to the patient. Fifteen patients treated by the microsurgical laser procedure in the past 5 years are reported.