What is esophageal manometry?

Esophageal manometry is a test to check the pressure inside your esophagus (food pipe). In this test, the team passes a thin tube into your esophagus via your nose. They’ll ask you to sip water and swallow at specific intervals, providing a lot of information about how food and liquid move through your esophagus.

Specifically, esophageal manometry evaluates the open-and-close movement of the muscles at the beginning and end of your esophagus. It also checks the muscle pressure level, how fast the muscles work, and their movement patterns. 

When might I need esophageal manometry?

In general, the team may recommend esophageal manometry if you have symptoms such as difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), pain when you swallow, frequent heartburn, or chest pain. Depending on your specific symptoms, you may also need other tests to find the cause of your symptoms.

What conditions can esophageal manometry diagnose?

Esophageal manometry can help the team diagnose esophageal disorders such as achalasia, in which your lower esophageal sphincter muscle doesn’t open to let food into your stomach when it should.

Another example is esophageal spasms, in which the esophagus muscles contract randomly. 

Yet another disorder that esophageal manometry can help diagnose is scleroderma, a connective tissue disorder in which the lower esophageal muscles don’t move when they should.

If you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and plan to have surgery soon, you’ll likely need esophageal manometry to rule out achalasia and scleroderma as the reason for your symptoms since neither respond to GERD surgery.

You may need a special type of manometry — sphincter of Oddi manometry — if the team suspects you have a problem with the muscle regulating digestive liquid movement from the liver and pancreas to the small intestine. 

This highly advanced type of manometry is only available in select locations in the state. Two gastroenterologists at Richmond Gastroenterology Associates are among the few who have the highly specialized training required to perform this procedure.

When you need esophageal manometry, it’s good to have the leading digestive disease diagnosticians in Virginia on your side, so book your appointment by calling Richmond Gastroenterology Associates or clicking the online scheduler now.