Revolutionary Non-Invasive Surgery For Acid Reflux Disease Now Available At Mercy Medical Center

Mercy Medical Center has become the first hospital in the Northeast to offer a new, revolutionary non-invasive procedure that surgically treats chronic heartburn resulting from GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).

A team headed by Shawn Garber, MD, Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Mercy, with colleague Spencer Holover, MD, is one of only a handful in the entire country to offer the technique, known as EsophyXTM Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF), a form of Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS) in which a device for performing reconstructive gastrointestinal procedures is introduced into the body through the mouth, rather than through an abdominal incision.

"EsophyX transoral incisionless surgery provides an important new option in the treatment of intractable acid reflux disease," explained Dr. Garber, who heads the New York Bariatric Group. "Unlike conventional laparoscopic procedures for surgical remediation of GERD, the transoral technique that introduces the surgical instruments through the mouth, reduces the risk of infection from incisions, preserves future treatment options, nearly eliminates pain for the patient, and requires less recovery time."

In the first operation of its kind in the Northeast, the team at Mercy Medical Center recently performed the EsophyX procedure several weeks ago on a 65-year-old New Jersey woman who had been experiencing severe heartburn from acid reflux disease for many years, and had obtained no relief from dietary and lifestyle changes, or any over-the-counter or prescription medication treatments. As a result of the surgery, her GERD has dissipated and she no longer requires medication.

It's been estimated that as many as one in four people in Western nations suffer from heartburn at least once per month; that 12 percent experience the burning and pain at least once per week; and that more than 5 percent suffer on a daily basis. Those experiencing heartburn twice a week or more over a six month period are likely to have GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease, which results from excess stomach acid backing-up into the esophagus (the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach) due the failure of a muscular valve at the bottom of the esophagus to close properly.

Dietary and lifestyle changes, as well as over-the-counter and prescription medications treat GERD by reducing the amount of acid produced in the stomach. Medications can alleviate symptoms but generally do not stop the progression of the condition, and often must be taken for the rest of a patient's life. For severe cases, conventional laparoscopic surgery can repair the gastroesophageal valve with instruments introduced into the abdomen through small incisions. The EsophyX transoral procedure, developed by EndoGastric SolutionsTM of Redmond, Washington, eliminates the need for incisions, and the associated pain and risk of infection, by introducing the surgical instruments through the patient's mouth.

A similar bariatric procedure, called StomaphyXTM, for reducing the size of a patient's stomach for individuals who gain weight a few years after gastric bypass surgery, has been available at Mercy Medical Center since last July.