Is there surgical correction of acid reflux?

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happyacres

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:confused:Hello I was curious if there is surgery that can correct/help acid reflux? I am in dire need of some help. My medications aren't helping, I am sick of vomitting and all the buring in my throat, constant coughing, feeling the stomach contents rise into my throat. I am hoarse and constantly coughing. I am tired of this, does any one know about any surgical procedures you can have done to correct the problem? Any comments would be very appreciated I need some help.
Thanks,
Debra
 
There is no surgical correction for acid reflux that I'm aware of. There is, however, surgery to help with the functioning of your lower esophageal sphincter. There are several types of surgery, but the most common is the Laproscopic Nissen Fundoplication. They take the top of your stomach (the fundus) and wrap it around your esophagus. They then stitch your stomach to itself to hold it in this position. As a result, every time your stomach contracts, it will contract around your lower esophagus. It kind of acts like your lower esophageal sphincter that isn't functioning properly.

Most of the time, it is recommended that dietary and lifestyle changes are made first. Then, medications are tried. Surgery is a last consideration. It isn't performed all that often, but in some circumstances it can be the best course of action for treatment. From my own internet research, there is about an 80% success rate for the surgery. It also seems that the success rate long term varies for everyone and often times people end back on PPI at some point.

Personally, lifestyle changes, diet and medication kept my reflux under control for years. Then they just stopped working. In my case, I developed a chronic cough and eventually severe breathing problems because the acid was irritating my lungs. For me it wasn't a quality of life decision, it was a "life" decision after I had a severe asthma attack and almost stopped breathing. I had the Nissen Fundoplication 15 months ago and was happy with the results from day one. Unlike most, I've maintained taking PPI's because I developed other digestive issues as well and the excessive acid my stomach produces is still there. I just don't have the acid coming up into my esophagus, lungs and throat.

It sounRAB like you have reflux on the extreme side. I'd have some serious conversations with your GI doc about your options. You may be at the point that surgery is a serious consideration.

My suggestion: do an internet search on Nissen Fundoplication.

There are others on this board who have had other procedures, but I'm not as informed on them so hopefully they will share.

Good luck,
MountainReader
 
My diet was pretty strict for several years before my surgery. It helped for a long time, but wasn't much help in the end. Low fat, no greasy or fried fooRAB, no tomato or citrus products, no spicy, no onions or garlic, no mint or peppermint, water and soy milk only to drink (no coffee, tea, carbonation, caffeine, etc...), no dairy, no raw fruits and veggies and of those I cook, easy on the gas producing fooRAB, no alcohol or nicotine (never been a drinker or smoker). I was diligent on this for years. That is being honest. If you cheat on the diet, you have to pay the price with the reflux. For me having life-threating symptoms was a HUGE incentive not to cheat...and my reflux was irritating my lungs so badly that it had become life-threatening.

I had tons of tests done at about 3 years apart. The first sets showed severe reflux, the second set prior to surgery showed extremely severe. My second Manometry I had showed how poorly my LES really was functioning. It had gotten significantly worse over the years. That is a physical problem. If the LES doesn't close at all, food and acid will make it back up regardless of how careful your diet it followed.

I can say that since surgery I've added an occassional "cheat" into my diet when I'm feeling well, but I still basically follow the anti-reflux diet as my standard even over a year after surgery.

I also still sleep on an incline.
 
I had the Laproscopic Nissen Fundoplication surgery done 13 years ago. My acid reflux was caused by malfuntion of the valve on top of the stomach that controls spillage into the esophagus. I had a true case of infuenza and the virus attacked that valve and partially destoyed it. My reflux was so bad that acid was spilling into my lungs and I was down to 20% lung function. I was unable to eat or drink anything without excruciating pain. The surgery was my only option.

The surgery went just fine. Two days in the hospital and I was out. However, I developed a life-threatening complication called malabsorption. I was unable to absorb anything from my fooRAB - I was literally starving to death. I truly almost died from this.

BUT that said, my complication was probably caused by the extreme poor health I was in from the reflux. From reading articles and other blogs, I seem to be in the tiny majority of people who had such an extreme complication.

Would I do the surgery again with full knowledge of the results, including the complications? Heck yes. I RARELY have any kind of heartburn now and when I do, it's of short duration and mild in comparision. I eat whatever I want and put green chiles and jalapenos in everything.

The surgery saved my life and I am very grateful to have had a wonderful team of doctors.
 
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