As of April 18, 2016, Gastroenterology Associates of New Jersey is proud to announce that we are fully equipped and trained in Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication. We are the first practice in New Jersey to be equipped and certified in this procedure. Dr. Shami and myself have completed the training course and animal labs required for certification in this procedure.
The TIF procedure allows us to endoscopically create a barrier to esophageal reflux.
Why offer your patients a TIF?
Data is emerging showing that long term PPI use has drawbacks which may include renal failure, dementia, and osteoporosis. The future of GERD will likely be based in physical barrier procedures such as TIF rather than chronic PPI.
Does TIF work?
3 year outcome data shows that
- Troublesome regurgitation eliminated in 91% of patients
- 70% of patients were able to completely stop PPI therapy
- GERD-HRQL scores improved from 26.3 on PPIs before TIF to 5.4
- Atypical symptoms: normalization of RSI score in 87% of patients
TIF works best when the patient has a hiatal hernia smaller than 2cm. When hiatal hernias are larger than this, TIF will be performed after surgical closure of the diaphragmatic crura. This "hybrid" procedure will allow us to stop chronic PPI use for most of our patients.
Dr. Shami and I look forward to speaking further with you about this new procedure.
Written by:
Matt Grossman, MD
To read more on the drawbacks of PPI, check out http://acgblog.org/2016/04/18/acg-presidential-blog-ppi-wars-part-2/
