Natsuya Katada

Laparoscopic toupet fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease with poor esophageal body motility

Impaired esophageal body motility is a complication of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In patients with this disease, a 360-degree fundoplication may result in severe postoperative dysphagia. Forty-six patients with GERD who had a weak lower esophageal sphincter pressure and a positive acid reflux score associated with impaired esophageal body peristalsis in the distal esophagus (amplitude <30 mm Hg and >10% simultaneous or interrupted waves) were selected to undergo laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication. They were compared with 16 similar patients with poor esophageal body function who underwent Nissen fundoplication. The patients who underwent Toupet fundoplication had less dysphagia than those who had the Nissen procedure (9% vs. 44%;P=0.0041). Twenty-four-hour ambulatory pH monitoring and esophageal manometry were repeated in 31 Toupet patients 6 months after surgery. Percentage of time of esophageal exposure to pH <4.0, DeMeester reflux score, lower esophageal pressure, intra-abdominal length, vector volume, and distal esophageal amplitude all improved significantly after surgery. Ninety-one percent of patients were free of reflux symptoms. The laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication provides an effective antireflux barrier according to manometric, pH, and symptom criteria. It avoids potential postoperative dysphagia in patients with weak esophageal peristalsis and results teria. It avoids potential postoperative dysphagia in patients with weak esophageal peristalsis and results in improved esophageal body function 6 months after, surgery.

The hypertensive lower esophageal sphincter

BACKGROUND This study defines the entity of the hypertensive lower esophageal sphincter (HLES) and its treatment, including surgical implications. METHODS Esophageal manometry was performed on 1,300 patients. Of these, 53 (4%) had HLES with resting pressure > 26.5 mm Hg, defined as the upper limit of normal resting LES pressure. Thirty-two of these patients had 24-hour esophageal pH studies. The response to treatment was assessed. RESULTS Fourteen patients (26%) with HLES had achalasia. Of the remaining 39 (74%), 25 had an isolated HLES with normal esophageal body motility, 5 had a nonspecific esophageal motility disorders (NEMD), 4 were post-Nissen fundoplication, 3 had a nutcracker esophagus, and 2 had diffuse esophageal spasm (DES). Nineteen percent of HLES patients had gastroesophageal reflux on pH studies. Eighty-two percent of HLES patients responded well to symptom-directed medical therapy. Two patients with esophageal body dysmotility responded well to an esophageal myotomy with a partial fundoplication. CONCLUSIONS Patients with the HLES form a heterogeneous group. Gastroesophageal reflux in HLES patients is not uncommon. Patients with HLES respond well to medical therapy. Carefully selected patients require surgery.

Laparoscopic Antireflux Surgery In Complicated Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

The application of laparoscopic surgical techniques to antireflux surgery has been very beneficial to patients with uncomplicated gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) because it minimizes discomfort and risk. As knowledge of the pathophysiology of GERD has expanded and more complete preoperative evaluation of reflux patients has become possible, the role of laparoscopic antireflux surgery has become more clearly defined in patients with severe complicated reflux disease. Complications of GERD, including ulceration, stricture, Barretts esophagus, foreshortened esophagus, and esophageal dysmotility are discussed in this article in relation to their preoperative diagnosis and laparoscopic surgical management With careful preoperative evaluation consisting of endoscopy, 24-hour pH analysis, barium swallow, and stationary manometry, almost all patients can be successfully managed by the laparoscopic route. One exception is esophageal shortening, which should be approached surgically through the chest.