Achalasia Treatment Study: The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of peroral endoscopic myotomy, and to assess the quality of life, pain and complications of this endoscopic approach.

Advantages of Insuflow Insufflation Over Standard Insufflation: The purpose of this study is to determine whether the use of warmed, humidified gas during laparoscopic surgery can decrease the amount of inflammation that occurs in the abdominal cavity during surgery.

Laparoscopic-assisted Versus Open Resection for Rectal Cancer: This study is comparing two types of surgery currently used for rectal cancer: laparoscopic-assisted rectal resection and open laparotomy rectal resection.