Acid Reflux: Surgical Treatments
When other treatment options do not work, acid reflux can often be treated by means of surgery.
This surgery is normally conducted only after other treatments have proven themselves to be ineffective, such as the use of prescription medicines. Surgery is also commonly performed on patients that are experiencing high levels of pain and discomfort or who bleed severely.
The Nissen fundoplication is the name of the surgical procedure that is performed in the hopes of eliminating the root of the problems presented by acid reflux.
Originally, the Nissen fundoplication was a very lengthy and serious procedure that resulted in a post surgery stay at the hospital of at least one week, not to mention a ten inch scar.
The results were often slow to be seen, and many times, the patient had trouble swallowing. Frequently, symptoms of Acid Reflux appeared to get worse.
In the last 25 years or so, laparoscopic surgery has advanced by leaps and bounds, Problems faced with the traditional operation. Have been ironed out. The overall availability of excellent pathological diagnostic tests has also contributed in a meaningful way, to a better selection of patients for surgery.
The surgery can be compared to what you might do to prevent the contents of a room from being washed away by a typhoon or flash flood.
The Lower Esophageal Sphincter is like a door between the esophagus and the stomach. It is this sphincter muscle that is made stronger by surgery. Surrounding the sphincter with permanently attached stomach tissue provides the necessary support that the muscle needs to function properly.
The following step is to return the part of the stomach extending out from underneath the diaphragm, called the hiatal hernia, back to its rightful location. Abdominal pressure is successfully reduced because of correcting any hiatal hernia and supporting the muscles of the esophageal sphincter. The entire procedure protects the body from gastric juice backflows that are usually brought on because of certain combinations of food.
The esophageal passage must sometimes be cared for because of ulceration and scarring. Surgery of this sort boasts a success rate of 95% and keeps the patient from needing to take other medications to alleviate the once terrible pain of acid reflux.
