When the symptoms of acid indigestion occur on a regular basis it could mean you Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD. It's a simple problem, but it can make life very uncomfortable for those who have it. Here is what is happening. 

Food goes from the mouth to the stomach through a long tube called the esophagus.  In the stomach there is a lot of acid that works to digest our food effectively. Where the esophagus meets the stomach there is a handy one way valve called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). It lets food and drink go into the stomach, without letting the acid in the stomach flow back into the esophagus.

What happens in GERD is the LES starts to malfunction and lets the stomach acid through to the esophagus. The esophagus was never designed to handle acid and that's what causes the pain. As the disease progresses it can become hard to swallow (called dsyphagia) and the stomach can even push itself up into the esophagus, which is called a hiatal hernia. There are excellent treatments for all different severity's of GERD. Some of these treatments involve very sophisticated technology available through your Premier Surgeon.

Lifestyle Changes that can help GERD

• Sometimes by stopping smoking you can eliminate GERD altogether.
• Avoid foods that aggravate GERD. These include fried and fatty foods, spicy foods, citrus fruits, tomatoes, onions, chocolate, peppermint, coffee, tea, and carbonated beverages, and alcohol.
• Physical adjustments such as losing extra weight, loosening your belt, not wearing tight fitting clothes, or bending over as little as possible can help a lot.
• Raise your head while in bed by 6 to 8 inches. Place a wedge between the mattress and box springs or put blocks under the feet at the head of the bed.

Medications to Relieve GERD

If changes do not help, the next step is to try medications.  There are two kinds of medications you can over the counter to help relieve symptoms. Antacids (Maalox, Mylanta) reduce the strength of the acid in your stomach.  H-2 blockers also reduce the amount of acid in your stomach. Pepcid and Zantac are all H-2 blockers.

Surgery to Relieve GERD

Surgery is the only way to correct the underlying cause of GERD and today your surgeon has very advanced technological techniques to fix the malfunctioning LES.

New Advanced Surgical Treatment for GERD- Laparoscopic Fundoplication

This procedure requires only small incisions, which is less painful than the traditional open surgery and allows for a more rapid recovery. 

The surgeon makes small incisions in the abdomen. One of the incisions will be used to place the laparoscope, which is a thin tube with a tiny, high-resolution camera on the end.

Other incisions are used to place very delicate surgical instruments. Now the surgeon can manipulate the instruments to carry out the procedure using the images on the video screen to see everything.  The surgeon can repair the esophagus and LES, depending on what the patient needs to have corrected.

These repairs include reinforcing the LES so it works like it should and/or retracting a hiatal hernia. After the surgery the patient will stay in the hospital for 1 to 3 days. This is followed by 1 to 2 weeks of rest at home. After the surgery most patients have lasting relief from GERD, because the cause of the disease is now corrected.

GERD can be a troublesome disease for many people. Fortunately there are many options available today to help relieve symptoms and, through new surgical techniques, even achieve a cure. If you suffer with GERD, talk to your doctor about what are the right treatments for you to pursue.