ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the incidence,location and morphological features of Laimer fibers between mucosal layer and inner circular muscularispropria in patients with achalasia.Methods Data of 107 patients with achalasia who underwent POEM between May 2010 and June 2013 were collected.Endoscopic video was reviewed to determine the incidence of Laimer fibers and the corresponding images were analyzed according to gender,age,Ling typing and location of Laimer fibers.Results Laimer fibers were found in lower esophageal sphincter of 44 patients (41.12％).There were no significant differences in the incidences of Laimer fiber among groups with different age or gender (P ＞ 0.05).The incidence in Ling type Ⅱb was 46.15％ (12/26),and 45.83％ (22/48) in Ling type Ⅰ,0 in Ling type Ⅲ.There was no significant difference among the groups of Ling type (x2 =2.042,P =0.564).All Laimer fibers were found in lower esophageal sphincter and the majority of which were in right wall (36.45 ％,39/107),followed by left wall (3.74％,4/107) and none was found in anterior wall (x2 =107.468,P =0.000).Conclusion Laimer fibers generally exists in lower esophageal sphincter and most of which are discovered on right wall of the esophagus.Further study is needed to explore its role in development and treatment of achalasia.