Gastric Reflux Treatment Method
Diet and lifestyle changes
First of all, diet and some lifestyle changes can improve acid reflux . The treatment methods of stomach reflux are as follows;
- If you smoke, quit smoking
- Avoiding foods and drinks that trigger acid reflux.
- Not eating until 2-3 hours before bedtime
- lose weight if you are overweight or obese
- sleeping with a high pillow
- Eating less food by increasing the number of meals
Gastric Reflux Drug Treatment
In patients whose complaints do not go away despite diet and lifestyle changes, drug therapy is considered. A group of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) effectively lower stomach acid, relieving symptoms. (Lansor, Nexium and equivalent drugs) Most, if not all, reflux patients feel very comfortable as long as they use these drugs. This is actually the typical situation of the real reflux patient . The patient is comfortable as long as he takes medication. When he stops taking the medicine, after 3-5 days, the burning starts again.
These drugs do not eliminate the underlying cause of reflux disease . Only because they effectively suppress stomach acid, acid leakage back into the esophagus decreases and complaints disappear. These drugs can be used for many years, but there are some studies showing that side effects (dementia) may be seen due to long-term use.
Effect of Drug Treatment on Reflux
Medicines show benefits with two types of effects:
1. They prevent acid release by plastering on the inner surface of the esophagus.
2. It reduces gastric acid secretion or decreases the acidity of secreted acid.
It is not possible to eliminate the leakage of acid into the esophagus with drug therapy.
The expectation from drugs should not be to eliminate reflux, but to postpone it. If the patient wants a permanent solution, he should try the surgical treatment method.
Surgical Treatment of Gastric Reflux
In some cases, surgical treatment comes to the fore in gastric reflux disease. These;
- If the underlying cause of your complaints is a large hernia
- If your complaints do not go away completely despite using medication and it is certain that you have reflux
- If you are a person who does not comply with medication or does not want to use medication for a long time
- If barret esophagus is detected at the lower end of the esophagus due to acid reflux for many years
Barrett's esophagus is a change in the epithelial lining of the lower end of the esophagus as a result of prolonged exposure to stomach acid. (Barret metaplasia) In fact, the body goes into such a change to protect itself against acid. However, it has been determined that the long-term risk of esophageal cancer in someone who develops Barrett's esophagus is slightly higher than in normal people.
Today, laparoscopic antireflux surgery (closed surgery technique) is the gold standard method in the surgical treatment of reflux disease . Nissen fundiplication (full wrap) and toupet fundiplication (half wrap) are the two most common surgical techniques. It has been shown in many studies that both surgical techniques have the same success rate in preventing acid reflux. Postoperative bloating (gas bloat) is more common in the Nissen (full wrap) method. This is less common in the half-wrap (toupet) method.
In our own practice, we mostly use the half-wrap (toupet fundiplication) method, which has the same effectiveness but less swelling side effects.
After Reflux Surgery
After the reflux surgery, the patient does not experience any pain problems. Only some patients may experience back pain. Since reflux surgery is performed through small holes, it is normal to see problems such as infection and hernia.
Postoperatively, patients come out of the operation with a probe in their nose. This is then usually removed the next morning.
On the first day after the surgery, patients begin to be fed with liquid food. Patients who consume enough fluids are discharged the next day.
A small percentage of patients may have trouble swallowing for the first two weeks. This is a natural result of surgery. Therefore, patients should consume soft and liquid foods for the first two weeks. After the third week, they can switch to solid food.
Again, depending on the surgery, problems such as vomiting, bloating and belching may occur. However, most of these complaints go away on their own about 1 month after the surgery.
