Gastro esophageal Refux Disease (GERD) is defined as the failure of the antireflux barrier, allowing abnormal reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. It is a mechanical disorder which is caused by a defective lower esophageal sphincter, a gastric emptying disorder or failed esophageal peristalsis.

Medical therapy is the first line of management. Esophagitis will heal in approximately 90% of cases with intensive medical therapy. However, symptoms recur in more than 80% of cases within one year of drug withdrawal. Since it is a chronic condition, medical therapy involving acid suppression and/or pro-motility agents may be required for the rest of a patient's life. Nissen fundoplication is a safe and effective treatment for GERD when medical management fails.

Yes; This problem is quite common in infants and child as well. Most of the time in infants it results due to faulty feeding techniques.

Nissen fundoplication has emerged as the most widely accepted procedure for patients with normal esophageal motility. Two surgical techniques are employed to perform Nissen fundoplication: open surgery or laparoscopic surgery. In open surgery we make a 6- to 10-inch incision in the middle of the abdomen, from just below the ribs to the umbilicus. If the patient has a hiatal hernia, that is repaired first and then the surgeon performs the procedure.

Reflux means that stomach acid and juices flow from the stomach back up into the tube that leads from the throat to the stomach (esophagus). This causes heartburn. When you have heartburn at least 2 times a week, it is called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Eating too much or bending forward after eating sometimes causes heartburn and a sour taste in the mouth. But having heartburn from time to time doesn't mean you have GERD.

In normal digestion, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) opens to allow food to pass into the stomach and closes to prevent food and acidic stomach juices from flowing back into the esophagus. Gastroesophageal reflux occurs when the LES is weak or relaxes inappropriately, allowing the stomach's contents to flow up into the esophagus. The severity of GERD depends on LES dysfunction, as well as the type and amount of fluid brought up from the stomach and the neutralizing effect of saliva.

There could be a link between antidepressant and reflux disease. Therefore, if you take antidepressants and are suffering from frequent acid reflux/GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), your antidepressant medication could be contributing to the symptoms you are experiencing. Researchers have discovered that a link between antidepressant and acid reflux does in fact..

It is a common health problem that physicians feel is caused by a hiatal hernia or when the lower esophageal sphincter or LES which is the opening to your stomach doesn't work well enough to hold food and fluids in the stomach and allows food and stomach juices and acids to wash back into the esophagus.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) develops when stomach acid and juices back up, or reflux, into the esophagus, the muscular tube that connects the throat to the stomach. This happens when the valve between the lower end of the esophagus and the stomach (the lower esophageal sphincter) does not close tightly enough. GERD most commonly occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter relaxes at the wrong time (that is, when you are not swallowing) and remains open too long.

Along with lifestyle changes, nonprescription medications may be needed to control occasional heartburn. Medications used for home treatment of GERD include antacids, or nonprescription medicines that reduce or block acid. These include H2 blockers (for example, Pepcid) or a proton pump inhibitor (for example, Prilosec OTC). For more information about prescription forms of these drugs, see the Medications section of this topic.

This is when the esophagus enlarges over time, and is probably related to either too tight a Band, or possibly improper placement of the Band around the junction of the esophagus and stomach. This requires loosening or removal of the Band.

NDI disrupts sleep by causing frequent awakenings to empty the bladder, which fills up quickly with urine. NDI is not associated with any allergies or respiratory problems although the latter two problems are common and may occur independent of NDI. NDI is not known to be associated with acid reflux disease. However, many young boys with NDI vomit frequently, sometimes twice or three-times daily, until the ages of 3 or 4 years.

The oesophagus is a long, hollow, muscular tube, running from the back of the mouth, into the neck (it lies behind the windpipe), through the entire length of the thorax (chest) and then joins into the stomach within the abdomen. It is responsible for propulsing swallowed food and liquid from the mouth safely into the stomach. This process of propulsion is know a peristalsis and is controlled by the layers of muscle within the wall of the oesophagus.

Since in most cases, reflux disease is a common and benign condition, many doctors are happy to treat this based on a history of symptoms alone. Objective evidence of reflux disease can however be demonstrated by endoscopy of the upper digestive tract (OGD). Presence of oesophagitis confirms the diagnosis if the symptoms are consistent. Endoscopy also has the benefit of visualising for the presence of the complications of reflux, namely Barrett’s metaplasia and early cancers.

There are three ways of treating reflux disease. Very mild symptoms can simply be treated with minor adjustments of lifestyle, such as sleeping with pillows at night (stops the stomach emptying into the oesophagus at night), avoiding large or liquid meals late at night, avoiding spices and alcohol (which may cause the LOS to relax spontaneously).

Normally food and liquid travel down your esophagus to your stomach. A small muscle at the end of the esophagus opens to allow food and liquid to enter the stomach where it is digested by stomach acid. Acid Reflux Disease is a condition where this muscle opens at inappropriate times and allows stomach acid to back up (reflux) into the esophagus.