To assess the interest of pneumatic dilatation in patients with achalasia.
Material and methods: The work has interested 61 patients with achalasia who underwent pneumatic dilatation using polyethylene balloon (Rigiflex) dilators. 74 sessions of dilatation were performed and 13 patients underwent 2 sessions of dilatation (21%). One patient presented un esophageal perforation requiring a surgical treatment. The outcome was good on 88.9% and 83.3% of the patients after respectively one and six months. These results illustrate the interest of pneumatic dilatation in achalasia, which have to be proposed in the first line of the treatment.