Doctors from Apollo Hospitals, Visakhapatnam on Monday successfully treated a 35-year-old woman patient suffering from Achalasia Cardia, a condition that made swallowing food and liquids increasingly difficult, using an advanced technique called POEM (Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy).

The doctors said that Achalasia Cardia occurs when the valve connecting the food pipe to the stomach fails to relax, causing food to get stuck, leading to weight loss and chest discomfort. In POEM, doctors access the affected muscle through the mouth using an endoscope, avoiding any external cuts or scars on the body. The patient recovered quickly and was able to resume a normal diet within days of the procedure, said Dr Varun Teja, who performed the procedure.