Donald from Houston sent me this question few days ago. Dysphagia or difficult swallowing is common with acid reflux. Constant gastric content reflux into the esophagus damages esophageal motility leading to difficulty swallowing. It is no surprise that GERD patients, with years of heartburn and...
Jason from North Houston sent us this question: TIF vs. Toupet fundoplication: how is that decided?? Thanks so much. Dear Jason, I am not sure in what context you are asking this question. Comparing TIF to fundoplication surgery for acid reflux is like comparing oranges to apples....
A 53 year -old female patient presented to Houston Heartburn and Reflux Center with severe GERD related symptoms of several year duration. She had a Lap Band placed for morbid obesity around 10 years ago. Patient had been over-restricted in hopeless attempt to promote weight...
Scleroderma is a rare connective tissue disorder of unknown etiology. Scleroderma results in tightening of the skin due to increased synthesis of collagen. It can be localized or systemic. Systemic scleroderma affects internal organs like the esophagus. When the esophagus is affected by the disease,...
Nissen fundoplication surgery is the gold standard treatment for acid reflux disease or GERD. Dr. Nissen first introduced the procedure more than 50 years ago. He astutely observed that by wrapping the gastric fundus around the distal esophagus acid reflux resolved. Interestingly, the first case...
The patient is a 34-year-old male with epigastric pain and belching following food intake. He rarely had heartburn, sore throat, chronic cough, or food regurgitation. He also denied vomiting. He responded poorly to PPI therapy. His workup included a negative pH Bravo study, and upper...
TIF, Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication, is a novel acid reflux procedure performed through the mouth using an endoscope. It is marketed as a fundoplication but is it really a fundoplication? Is the gastric fundus (upper part of the stomach) mobilized during TIF procedure to be partially...