What is GERD?

You may be one of the millions of Americans suffering from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). GERD causes reflux and regurgitation of the contents of the stomach into the esophagus that is frequent and severe enough to impact daily life. It may eventually damage the esophagus and in a small percentage of the population may lead to cancer.

While heartburn is the most common symptom, many GERD patients also suffer from other symptoms, such as sore throat, regurgitation or acid taste in the mouth, chronic cough, laryngitis, dental erosions, discomfort in the ears and nose, and asthma-like symptoms caused by the aspiration of stomach contents into the lungs. GERD may affect your life in many other ways, hindering your night’s sleep or productivity during the day, making certain foods and beverages “off limits”, costing you thousands of dollars annually in medications and potentially progressing to a more serious condition if left untreated.

For more information on GERD, its symptoms and causes, please visit http://www.gerdhelp.com

GERD Treatment Options

Initial GERD treatment typically involves a combination of lifestyle and dietary changes, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and prescription drug therapy. Surgery is reserved for patients with incomplete symptom control or intolerance to medical therapy. In recent years there has been a growing number of reports suggesting that approximately 25-40% of GERD patients do not obtain symptomatic relief (either partially or completely) on medication. Laparoscopic surgery has been shown to be effective in alleviating heartburn and other GERD symptoms in most patients. However, laparoscopic procedure is still fairly invasive and requires from three to four small abdominal incisions, and typically has a high incidence of side effects like gas bloating and difficulty swallowing.

Incisionless TIF offers a new alternative for treatment of GERD to those patients who can’t control their GERD symptoms or disease progression through use of medications, and are not comfortable with an invasive surgical procedure.