Sarasota and Manatee GI Services - Lakewood Ranch Medical Center

Gastro

The Digestive Disease Center offers the diagnosis and treatment of all gastroenterological organs which include the esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, gall bladder, liver and pancreas. The physician staff includes national and international authorities on billary tract disease (gall stones), pancreatic diseases and inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease).

Endoscopy Center:
Full endoscopy unit with the ability to diagnose and treat disorders of the entire intestinal tract with state of the art endoscopic equipment. This center is equipped with a photodynamic laser, the first in the Bradenton area.

Esophageal Motility Studies:
Diagnostic services include esophageal motility studies, 24 hour pH monitoring of the esophagus, hydrogen breath testing, and 13 C urea breath testing for the detection of heliobacter pylori infection.

Photodynamic Therapy Center:
Photodynamic Therapy is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment and palliation of esophageal, pulmonary and bladder malignancies.

Surgical Procedure Frees Patients of Chronic Heartburn

You've probably felt it before. It's a pain in the chest and throat that results from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), commonly known as heartburn.

A recent Gallup survey reports that 40% of all Americans suffer from some sort of heartburn at least once a month. But food is not the cause and too often, these remedies do not work. These individuals suffer from chronic heartburn or what is known as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). While over-the-counter antacids and prescription medications may provide adequate relief of symptoms for occasional to moderate heartburn sufferers there are over 1 million people in this country that no amount of medication will provide relief.

Many chronic heartburn sufferers are finding out that a videoscopic surgical procedure may be an effective treatment option. While the videoscopic approach is new, the procedure itself has been performed since the 1950s with traditional surgery.

What is GERD?
GERD occurs when the muscles surrounding the valve between the esophagus and the stomach become weak and allow acid from the stomach to leak upward into the esophagus.

When weakened this valve can allow stomach acid and food to surge upwards into the esophagus, causing painful heartburn and indigestion. Symptoms of the condition may include a burning sensation in the chest or abdomen, indigestion, regurgitation, difficulty in sleeping after eating, hoarseness or sore throat.

For many people, symptoms can occur several times a day, particularly at night when a person lies down to go to sleep, and continue from week to week and year to year. Diet and lifestyle may also make a person more susceptible to GERD. Consumption of fried, fatty or spicy foods, caffeinated beverages, alcohol and chocolate, as well as obesity, pregnancy, smoking and the natural aging process can worsen the symptoms of GERD.

If left untreated, reflux may lead to respiratory problems, ulceration of the esophagus or even esophageal cancer.

Surgical Treatment
The good news is that chronic GERD symptoms can be alleviated with a minimally-invasive surgerical procedure, also known as videoscopic surgery. "This procedure can literally changes your life," says Stephen Evans, MD, a surgeon at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. "For many patients, the daily heartburn prevents restful sleep, makes eating difficult and generally affects all aspects of their lives. This simple procedure gives them a better quality of life."

Developed a few years ago, this procedure has helped thousands. The surgeon makes five small incisions, each less than one inch in the abdomen to, accommodate small tubes called trocars. These create a passageway for special surgical instruments and a laparoscope. A laparoscope is a fiber optic instrument that is inserted in the abdominal wall and is used to examine visually the interior of what is known as the peritoneal cavity. This device is used to transmit images from within the body to a video monitor, allowing the surgeon to see the operative area on the screen. They then use the surgical instruments to wrap a portion of the stomach around the lower esophageal sphincter to prevent the flow of acid into the esophagus.

Since the minimally-invasive procedure is less traumatic than traditional surgery, recovery usually means only one day in the hospital and as little as a week of recuperation at home. In most cases, videoscopic surgery reduces scarring, shortens hospital stays and recovery time. Patients are usually released from the hospital in one to two days as compared with the nine days required for traditional surgery. In many cases recovery time can be as little as seven to thirteen days, compared with twenty eight days for traditional surgery.

The surgical team at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center has performed hundreds of laparoscopic procedures this year for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Individuals who think they may have chronic heartburn should see their physician or gastroenterologist to determine the cause and severity of the problem, the proper steps to take to improve their condition, and to determine if he or she is an appropriate candidate for videoscopic surgery.

Gastroenterology

Putting Out the Fire of Heartburn

Surgical Procedure Frees Patients of Chronic Heartburn

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