The use of endoscopy in patients with gastrointestinal motility problems.

Gastrointestinal motility disorders are a commonly encountered problem. Although some are associated with organic alterations, others are defined by their symptoms, and no anatomic or histologic organic changes are to be found. In most cases, the etiology is completely unclear. Endoscopy, with the option of obtaining biopsies for histopathologic evaluation, plays the most important role in the diagnostic workup, as it can exclude such lesions as tumors, ulcers, inflammatory processes, and diverticula and it helps to define the grade and extent of motility-associated diseases (e.g., GERD). Furthermore, endoscopic interventional procedures offer sufficient treatment of several motility-related disorders (e.g., achalasia, GERD, its associated diseases, secondary constipation).