[New directions in the surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux. Review of the literature]

Abstract

The pathophysiology of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is often multifactorial, as abnormal function of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) may be associated to abnormalities of the esophageal peristalsis, the esophageal clearance, and the gastric reservoir. The preoperative evaluation of patients with GERD must include esophageal function tests (esophageal manometry and ambulatory pH monitoring) and evaluation of the gastric emptying in addition to UGI series and endoscopy. The information provided by these tests is essential to identify the pathophysiology of the disease in the individual patient, and tailor the operative treatment accordingly. For patients with an incompetent LES but normal esophageal peristalsis, the Nissen fundoplication is the procedure of choice. When abnormal peristalsis and delayed clearance are identified by preoperative esophageal function tests, a partial fundoplication must be chosen in order to avoid postoperative dysphagia and gas bloat syndrome. Too many eponyms have been used to describe antireflux surgery (Nissen, Rossetti, Toupet, Lind, Hill, Guarner). It is time to go beyond these eponyms, and focus on the technical details which contribute to the stability of the wrap, as this is the main determinant of long term outcome.