Which Acid Reflux Surgery Is Right For Me

If you suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), you likely know that you’re not alone. In fact, nearly 15 million Americans suffer from acid reflux daily. There are far more people who have symptoms at least once a month— nearly 60 million! If you and your doctor have exhausted other interventions, it may be time to consider a type of acid reflux surgery (also known as GERD surgery). But which one?

Acid Reflux Surgery Options

Surgical procedures come with their own risks, all of which you will discuss with your physician or reflux specialist. When you have tried everything else, sometimes the best course of action is to address the root cause: a relaxed gastroesophageal sphincter. Unfortunately, if left unchecked, GERD can lead to esophageal cancer. For this reason, your doctor has likely recommended that you consider one of the following acid reflux surgeries. 

TIF Surgery

TIF surgery is hardly a surgery at all; this incisionless procedure uses only sutures. A scope is inserted into the mouth and into the stomach where specialized tools create a new valve directly from the patient’s own gastroesophageal opening. This procedure is backed by more than 10 years of study and has proven to be a good, long-term solution for patients with GERD. Additionally, if you don’t see the results you were hoping for, you can still opt for a more invasive procedure.

TIF “surgery” is best suited for patients who are at high risk for surgical complications or who don’t wish to undergo extensive procedures just yet.

LINX Surgery

Usually a one-day procedure, LINX surgery involves the implantation of a small ring of magnetic beads. The device looks like a tiny bracelet, and functions much like one, too. Your surgeon will insert the ring laparoscopically, wrapping the tiny “bracelet” around your current, faulty gastroesophageal sphincter. The magnetic properties of the ring will allow larger chunks of food to pass through to the stomach but prevent the acidic, liquid contents from regurgitating into the esophagus.

This surgical procedure is best for patients who wish to avoid the extensive measures that a Lap Nissen Fundoplication uses. However, LINX surgery is still a surgery, so it wouldn’t be the best choice for patients who are at a greater risk of surgical or anesthesia complications.

Lap Nissen Fundoplication

One of three types of fundoplication, the Lap Nissen fundoplication involves wrapping the top of the stomach (the fundus) around the esophagus. This tightens the opening from the esophagus to the stomach so that it’s much more difficult to regurgitate acidic contents; in fact, it’s nearly impossible to vomit at all after this surgery. If you and your doctor have tried everything else and you still have troublesome GERD symptoms, this may be the surgery for you.

There are two other fundoplication surgery types that involve less extensive wrapping. Depending on your pre-surgical symptoms, you and your doctor will decide what is best for you.

Get GERD Treatment

If you’re at a loss and have tried every other acid reflux treatment, it might be time to reach out to the reflux professionals at the Tampa Bay Reflux Center. We’ll help you rule out anything that you might have missed and discuss your remaining options with you. Our goal is to get you back to living a normal, reflux-free, and pain-free life— you deserve some relief.