Discover What’s Causing Your Esophagus Symptoms
Esophageal manometry assesses the esophageal muscles to ensure they are functioning correctly. When these muscles are not working properly, symptoms such as heartburn, difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain, and regurgitation may occur.
Diagnose The Cause Of Your Discomfort
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Why Do You Need An Esophageal Manometry?
If the muscles in your esophagus—the tube that connects the mouth with the stomach—are not functioning correctly, we may recommend esophageal manometry to test what is happening. The procedure measures your esophageal muscles’ contractions, force, and coordination as they move food to the stomach. It provides information on how food moves through your esophagus into the stomach, including the function of the sphincter muscles at the top and bottom of the esophagus and the pressure, speed, and pattern of esophageal muscle contractions.
Esophageal manometry helps diagnose conditions such as:
- Achalasia: This uncommon condition occurs when your lower esophageal sphincter muscle doesn’t relax properly to let food enter your stomach, causing difficulty swallowing and regurgitating food back into your throat.
- Diffuse Esophageal Spasm: This is a rare swallowing problem characterized by multiple, forceful, poorly coordinated muscle contractions of your esophagus.
- Scleroderma: In many people with this rare progressive disease, the muscles in the lower esophagus stop moving, leading to severe gastroesophageal reflux.
A patient may also need an esophageal manometry in preparation for esophageal surgery or to follow up and assess function after surgery.
How to Prep
For Your Esophageal Manometry
- We will provide you with specific instructions before your exam.
- Please inform us of all your current medications, including supplements. We will let you know if you need to change when and how you take them the day before or the day of the procedure.
- You should not eat or drink anything starting at midnight before your test.
- Our staff is happy to assist you with any concerns or questions.
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What to Expect
The Day of Your Esophageal Manometry
This test is an outpatient procedure without sedation.
- We use a spray to numb your throat or insert a numbing gel into your nose (or both).
- A catheter is gently guided through your nose into your esophagus. The catheter doesn’t interfere with your breathing; however, your eyes may water, you may gag, or you may have a slight nosebleed from irritation.
- You then swallow small sips of water. As you do, a computer connected to the catheter records the pressure, speed, and pattern of your esophageal muscle contractions.
- During the test, you’ll be asked to breathe slowly and smoothly, remain as still as possible, and only swallow when asked.
- When finished, the catheter is slowly withdrawn.
The test usually lasts about 30 minutes.
Getting Your Results
Someone will call you a few days after the procedure to discuss what the results reveal about the muscle function in the esophagus and if there is a need for further testing.