| Howard McCollister 2005-10-15, 12:57 am |
| CHICAGO - Laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgery to treat severe
reflux disease was effective in relieving symptoms and was associated
with high rates of patient satisfaction five years after the procedure,
according to a study in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, one
of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery has been gaining in popularity for the
treatment of severe symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD),
according to background information in the article. Few previous
studies have reported five-year follow-up for a large group of patients
who have undergone laparoscopic surgery to treat severe reflux disease.
Patrick Pessaux, M.D., of the university Hospital, Angers, France, and
colleagues evaluated patients who had undergone one of three types of
laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery in one of 31 hospital centers between
January 1992 and December 1998. Outcome data covering five or more
years was available for 1,340 patients, 815 men and 525 women (average
age 49.3 years). The average follow-up was 7.1 years. Patients were
evaluated post-operatively using a standardized questionnaire including
questions on gastrointestinal symptoms and satisfaction with surgery.
"In this study, the intraoperative and postoperative complication
rates were 2.1 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, with a subsequent
operation rate of 4.4 percent at five years," the researchers report.
"Of interest, overall patient satisfaction following surgery was
high, with 93.1 percent of patients satisfied with their long-term
outcome and 94.1 percent willing to have the surgery again. Although
nearly 10 percent of patients resumed taking antisecretory medication,
in most no evidence of reflux recurrence could be found."
"In conclusion, the results of this study do not differ significantly
from the data reported in the literature, suggesting that laparoscopic
antireflux surgery is an effective long-term procedure, is well
tolerated, and can be properly used in the treatment of GERD," the
authors write.
(Arch Surg. 2005; 140:946-951.}
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