Published 10:34pm Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Tens of millions of Americans suffer with daily heartburn or other symptoms of reflux such as regurgitation, chronic cough, hoarseness and dental erosions. until recently these people faced either lifetime of daily medications and often incomplete resolution of their symptoms or the risks of invasive surgery.Now they have a better option. The new Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication procedure, or TIF, using the innovative EsophyX(r) device, is performed completely without incisions and is now available from Dr. Abbas Syed of the Center for General Surgery at Lakeland Community Hospital, Watervliet.Syed is the first provider in seven area counties to be trained on the TIF procedure.“The TIF procedure can significantly improve quality of life for our patients,” said Syed. “Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is an anatomical problem which needs an anatomical solution. Reflux medication like PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) can help relieve patients’ heartburn symptoms but don’t solve the underlying anatomical problems or prevent further disease progression. in addition, recent studies have shown that long-term use of PPIs can lead to inadequate absorption of minerals such as calcium and can result in bone fractures. after the TIF procedure, clinical trials show that most patients can eat and drink foods they avoided for many years. Reflux no longer impacts their life like it previously did.”The TIF procedure is based on established principles of surgical repair of the antireflux barrier, except that it is “surgery from within” performed transorally (through the mouth).Visit lakelandhealth .org/TIF to learn more.