Characteristics and Outcomes of Laparoscopic Surgery in Patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux and Related Disease: A Single Center Experience

Abstract

Background: Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery (LARS) is generally the treatment of choice for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This report describes our experiences in performing LARS on patients with GERD, and focuses retrospectively on the pathophysiology of individual patients and the current status of Japanese patients who have undergone LARS. We demonstrate that patients with non-erosive reflux disease resistant to proton pump inhibitors (PPI-resistant NERD) and high-risk giant hernia, whom we are sometimes hesitant to treat surgically, can be safely and successfully treated with LARS (depending on the pathophysiology of individual patients).