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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> The researchers also found that diet-induced weight loss can help minimize GERD symptoms.
However, not all weight-loss surgeries were equally beneficial with respect to GERD, Freidenberg's team found.
Across several studies, a procedure known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass -- which involves the creation of a small gastric pouch walled off from (or bypassing) the rest of the stomach and intestinal track -- consistently appeared to help patients shed pounds and eliminate or reduce GERD symptoms.
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However, laparoscopic (gastric) banding was found to be less helpful in tackling GERD.
The popular surgery, which involves the placement of a band to divide and reduce the size of the stomach, initially debuted in 1993. It has proven effective in helping patients feel satiated earlier, spurring weight loss.
Patients often did lose weight after banding, the researchers found, and this reduction in weight did not immediately encourage GERD. In fact, in some cases, post-procedure weight loss appeared to moderately reduce some reflux disease symptoms, the researchers said.
However, the inserted gastric band often seems to shift in place over time, they said, leading to a reversal of any initial benefit and a gradual worsening of GERD symptoms.
Based on these findings, Friedenberg and his team concluded that gastric bypass may be "the preferred surgical technique" with specific regard to GERD risk. But they also pointed out that more rigorous studies need to be conducted to better understand the how's and why's of reflux disease in the context of weight-loss surgery.
One expert said the current work highlights the need to carefully assess the pros and cons of each weight-loss procedure.
"Gastric bypass is the most common and the most successful of the surgical procedures to deal with obesity," noted Dr. Anthony A. Starpoli, an attending gastroenterologist at Lenox Hill Hospital and director of gastro-esophageal research and endo-surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital, both in New York City. "But the advantage to the banding procedure is that, although it will not be an effective option for all patients -- depending on the level of obesity -- it's a lot less aggressive than bypass and has a lot less morbidity associated with it. And it's much more reversible. So, there are reasons some patients might choose that option."
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