Acid Reflux Surgery
Acid reflux originates in the esophagus. This muscular organ causes food to flow down to the stomach where stomach acid naturally breaks it down and digest. As an acid reflux suffers, the sphincter fails to close. Without the sphincter muscle doing the job, stomach acid flows upward into esophagus along with undigested food particles. Due to malfunctioning of the sphincter muscle, the surgery can be performed to either improve the action of lower esophageal sphincter (LES) or to widen a narrowed esophagus in some cases.
Laproscope-laproscope is one of the surgical solutions physician often use for providing patients with relief from acid reflux when other options failed. It involves a keyhole surgery (where a cut is made as small as possible to improve recovery) and it is carried out to tighten the tissue around the lower esophagus to reduce or prevent acid reflux. This process restores the normal amount of pressure on sphincter, creating the correct degree of pressure on esophagus. There are number of procedures that may be carries out to widen a narrowed esophagus.
Guided wire- dilator passes over a thin wire, which is positioned in narrowed tube.
Balloons- long, narrow balloons can be passed into the esophagus and then gently inflated to open up the narrowed tube.
Bougie- a series of increasingly larger, soft rubber or plastic dilators are placed over the narrow part of the esophagus, gently widening the tube.
The results causes esophagus to once again prevent stomach acid and food from moving upward causing painful acid reflux.
Advantages of the surgery
1. It has few and very small incision. The smaller incisions cause less damage to body tissues, organ and muscles.
2. Can go home sooner.
3. Experiences fewer postoperative complications and less pain.
Controversy
Individuals who are unable to tolerate proton pumps inhibitors due to side effects, patients who developed additional symptoms such as cough, chest pain or hoarseness, or those who completely respond too drug therapy but relapse with symptoms when medications is withdrawn. But, with an advent of more effective and better-tolerated drugs, the advantages of surgery appear to be less clear-cut for majority of patients with GERD.