About 20% of Americans live with the chronic, uncomfortable symptoms of GERD. If you can’t find relief from heartburn, acid reflux, and other GERD symptoms with medications, the Mission Surgical Clinic team offers minimally invasive surgery to repair the underlying cause of GERD. Surgery prevents permanent damage to your upper digestive system. To find out if you’re a candidate for GERD surgery, call the office in Redlands, San Bernardino, Riverside, Corona, Barstow or Eastvale, California, today to schedule a consultation or book an appointment online.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic acid reflux condition. It causes the persistent backflow of stomach acids into your esophagus, the tube that connects your throat to your stomach.
The underlying cause of GERD is typically weak sphincter muscles at the bottom of the esophagus that don’t close properly. Normally, the sphincter opens to let food and drink pass through into the stomach.
When these muscles are too weak to close fully, stomach acids flow back into your esophagus. The acids can cause irritation and inflammation in the esophageal lining that ultimately damages the tissue.
While anyone can develop GERD, your risk for the disease increases if you:
Without treatment, GERD can lead to complications like Barrett’s esophagus and other esophageal diseases.
If medications and dietary changes aren’t enough to control your GERD symptoms, you should schedule a surgical consultation at Mission Surgical Clinic.
GERD can cause several uncomfortable symptoms that require a diagnostic evaluation, including:
The surgical team can determine if you’re a candidate for surgery to treat GERD and prevent long-term complications. Surgery is usually the last resort to relieve GERD symptoms when other treatments aren’t working.
There are several surgical treatments the Mission Surgical Clinic team offers to treat GERD. Depending on how severe your symptoms are and the damage that stomach acids have done to your esophagus, you could benefit from surgeries like:
Nissen fundoplication is a minimally invasive surgery that wraps the top of your stomach around the lower esophageal sphincter.
This procedure tightens the sphincter muscles to prevent the backflow of stomach acids into your esophagus.
During a minimally invasive surgical procedure, the team implants a LINX device, a ring of small magnetic beads, in the junction of your esophagus and stomach. The magnets attract each other, closing the junction to keep acids in your stomach while allowing food to pass through.
You might need additional surgery to repair a hiatal hernia that contributes to GERD symptoms.
To learn more about the available surgeries to treat GERD, schedule a consultation online today or call the Mission Surgical Clinic office nearest you.
