Acid
Reflux And Getting Surgery
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Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD is
one of the common diseases, which are often difficult to
diagnosis. Classic symptoms of GERD are heartburns and
regurgitation, which is displayed in most GERD
sufferers. However, GERD sufferers often have a wide range
of symptoms, which can easily mask the true condition of the
patient. In cases where there is no clear symptoms of GERD
displayed by the patient, a physician would often prescribe
first over-the-counter drugs or prescription medications and
observe how the patient would react to the medication.
Although most patient would soon find their symptoms gone
with over the counter drugs, there are also those who
continue to suffer even after taking the drugs for quite
sometime.
The reason why physicians often
try over-the-counter or prescription medications before
subjecting the patients to extensive diagnostic tests is that
most of these test are quite invasive as well as expensive.
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However, in cases where the symptoms are not
taken care of by prescription drugs given by he physician,
further test should be conducted to ascertain the patients true
conditions. In assessing the patient’s condition test such
as x-rays with a barium swallow, an upper gastrointestinal x-ray
series, an upper endoscopy, an esophageal manometry, or a
24-hour pH are often conducted.
In the event where the physician diagnose the patient
to be suffering from GERD, the patient must be informed of the options
he/she may have in managing his/her symptoms. More often, physicians
would simply recommend change in lifestyle and the continued use of
over the counter or prescription drugs. For those patients whose
symptoms are rather severe and is causing them so much pain and
discomfort, the physician may suggest surgery.
As surgery is invasive as well as expensive, one would
ask if this is indeed the best alternative there is for people
suffering from acid reflux. There are varying options on the matter
and a continuing debate rage among those who believe that surgery is
indeed the answer and those who think that it is not. According to
some medical experts, surgery is a good alternative in curing GERD.
These group of experts claimed that the procedure involved in GERD
patients is safe and will totally eliminate the symptoms of the
patients. This procedure, which is typically performed on GERD
patients, is called the "Nissen fundoplication".
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How is this procedure performed? A “Nissen
fundoplication” is a surgery in the upper part of the
stomach called the "fundus,". The “fundus” is located near
the esophagus which acid reflux symptoms are usually
associated. In this procedure, the “fundus” is wrapped
around the lower esophagus to strengthen its barrier
function of the lower esophagus. The idea is to tighten the
lower esophagus in order to prevent gastreosophageal reflux
thereby repairing the main physical irregularity that is
often the cause of the symptom in people suffering from GERD.
This kind of surgery is performed laparoscopically on the
patient. At present, this procedure is considered to be safe
and have good results of patients.
On the other hand, there are many who would
not agree to surgery. A lot of experts would argue that
change in lifestyle is still the best alternative and the
procedures should never be performed unless done as a last
recourse. |
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