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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Mar 16, 2015; 7(3): 206-212
Published online Mar 16, 2015. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v7.i3.206
Techniques and efficacy of flexible endoscopic therapy of Zenker’s diverticulum
Yaseen Perbtani, Alejandro Suarez, Mihir S Wagh
Yaseen Perbtani, Alejandro Suarez, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, United States
Mihir S Wagh, Interventional Endoscopy, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, United States
Author contributions: Perbtani Y contributed to data collection and analysis, draft and final approval of manuscript; Suarez A contributed to data analysis, draft and final approval of manuscript; Wagh MS contributed to concept and data analysis, draft and final approval of manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest: None of the authors have relevant disclosures or conflicts of interest to declare related to this study.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Mihir S Wagh, MD, FACG, FASGE, Interventional Endoscopy, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Florida, 1329 SW 16th Street, Suite 5251, Gainesville, FL 32608, United States. mihir.wagh@medicine.ufl.edu
Telephone: +1-352-2739474 Fax: +1-352-6279002
Received: September 1, 2014
Peer-review started: September 2, 2014
First decision: November 19, 2014
Revised: December 5, 2014
Accepted: December 18, 2014
Article in press: December 19, 2014
Published online: March 16, 2015
Core Tip

Core tip: Definitive therapy for Zenker’s diverticulum (ZD) typically includes either diverticulectomy or myotomy/septotomy of the cricopharyngeus muscle. Previously done as an open transcervical approach by surgeons, treatment has now evolved to include a minimally invasive trans-oral approach with flexible endoscopy performed by gastroenterologists. In this article we highlight our experience with flexible endoscopic therapy of ZD at our institution, describe commonly used flexible endoscopic techniques and devices, and assess efficacy and safety data related to this minimally invasive modality.