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Procedure at Los Robles Hospital the first for Ventura County |.
http://www.toacorn.com/news/2010-02-25/Community/Procedu.
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Procedure at Los Robles Hospital the firstfor Ventura CountyInterventional gastroenterologist Gilbert Simoni, MD, assisted by general surgeon Tom F. Measles, MD, recentlyperformed Ventura County’s first transoral incisionless fundopli-cation (TIF) procedure, a minimal y invasive solution forthe relief of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Both of these physicians are certified to perform the procedure, which is a new approach to the surgical managementof the disease.
GERD is a condition in which acid or bile travels backward from the stomach into the esophagus, causing a painfulburning sensation.
More than 21 mil ion people in the United States suffer from GERD.
Symptoms include heartburn, belching, difficulty swal owing,nausea, coughing and wheezing, and the regurgitation of food.
“The TIF procedure is an effective alternative to medicationdependency,” Simoni said. “Treating GERD with medications suchas H2-blockers like Pepcid, Zantac, Axid, etc., or proton pumpinhibitors like Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix, etc., may improvesymptoms of heartburn but wil not eliminate the underlying reasonfor reflux. Recent studies have shown that taking medicine forGERD over a period of time can increase a person’s chances for hipfractures, pneumonia, C. difficile colitis and, in people who takePlavix, heart attack and stroke.” TIF is a minimal y invasive, incisionless procedure that involves passing an endoscope, a flexible tube, through thepatient’s mouth and down through the esophagus to the stomach. Tissue is then folded and fastened to itself to createan anti-reflux valve.
The procedure general y takes less than one hour. Most patients go home the same day and return to work andrecreational activities within a few days. They no longer need acid suppressing medication.
“There are many advantages to this procedure,” Measles said. “It’s incisionless so there’s no cutting. The recovery timeis much shorter than with surgery, and the success rate is very high. In fact, at two years after the procedure, studiesshow that 93 percent of patients reported cessation of heartburn and 79 percent reported a complete cure or remissionof their GERD.” For more information, cal Los Robles Hospital’s information line at (877) 888-5746.
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Procedure at Los Robles Hospital the first for Ventura County |.
http://www.toacorn.com/news/2010-02-25/Community/Procedu.
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Source: http://agimedical.ontrix.org/pdfs/Acorn2-25-12_LosRoblesProcedure.pdf