citizensmemorial.com 11 You may be familiar with terms like heartburn or acid reflux. They can be unpleasant to experience, but they are often misunderstood. Contrary to popular belief, they aren’t medical conditions—but they can be symptoms of one. Both are often symptoms of a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. GERD is a chronic disease, meaning that it can last a long time and become worse if it isn’t treated correctly. It develops when food, acid and bile in your stomach move up into your esophagus. The esophagus is a tube that extends from your throat to your stomach. A muscle at the bottom of the esophagus normally keeps stomach contents where they belong. But if it isn’t working correctly, stomach contents can slide backward. This backward movement causes symptoms such as: ● Heartburn (a burning feeling in the chest). ● Regurgitation or acid reflux (the movement of stomach contents into your throat or mouth). ● Nausea. ● Chronic cough. ● Sore throat. ● Hoarseness. “GERD is not normal or something patients have to live with,” says Dylan Schwindt, M.D., a board certified general surgeon in practice at CMH General Surgery Clinic in Bolivar. “When symptoms persist, they can lead to serious complications and lasting damage from acid exposure, which is why early evaluation is so important.” Surgical options When lifestyle changes or medications are not enough, anti-reflux procedures like the Nissen or Toupet fundoplication can offer lasting relief and restore normal function. With minimally invasive surgical treatment, the surgeon fixes a hiatal hernia, if present, and wraps the upper part of the stomach around the lower part of the esophagus. This helps strengthen the muscle Heartburn and acid reflux: When symptoms signal GERD Find lasting relief To make an appointment with Dr. Schwindt, call the CMH General Surgery Clinic at 417-326-8700. that keeps stomach acid from flowing back up. The surgery is usually done using laparoscopic or robotic tools. These approaches use smaller cuts, which often means less pain and a quicker recovery. “It’s important for patients to undergo a full evaluation, including imaging, endoscopy and sometimes motility testing, to ensure the surgery is the right fit for their specific condition,” Dr. Schwindt says. “Advances in surgery over the years, especially with robotics, have made correction of GERD much easier and have given patients lasting results.”
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