Dr. Starpoli's Blog

A new laparoscopic therapy for reflux has been recently approved for the treat of reflux.  The procedure requires laparoscopic surgery (small incisions in the abdomen) in order to place this new device at the level of the lower esophageal sphincter.  Certain limitations will occur as the result of this procedure as will be discussed.

On September 7th and October 13th, 2011, the first two combined laparoscopic and transoral antireflux procedures were performed at the New York Univerisity Langone Medical Center in New York City.

In a retrospective study from Japan, the chronic use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), often used in the treatment of GERD, was found to be associated with a greater than 3-fold increased risk of developing Clostridium difficile–associated diarrhea (CDAD), Takatoshi Kitazawa, MD, assistant professor at Teikyo University in Tokyo, Japan, reported during a poster session at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

 
A report was published in the May 18 issue ofA report was published in the May 18 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association. In, what is referred to as the LOTUS (Long-Term Usage of Esomeprazole vs Surgery for Treatment of Chronic GERD) study, remission rates at five years were 92% (95% CI 89 to 96) for patients on esomeprazole and 85% (95% CI 81 to 90, P=0.048) for those who had laparoscopic antireflux surgery, according to Jean-Paul Galmiche, MD, of Nantes University in France, and colleagues.