Success Stories
Life is Sweet After Heartburn Surgery
Jacklyn Countryman suffered from severe acid reflux disease for over five years. Her constantly fiery sore throat was a condition that inhibited her from going out to eat at restaurants. "I don't want to say I was a hermit, but for a while, I didn't even like to eat in public." When the acid reflux was at its worst, it even hurt for her to drink water.
After trying many heartburn medications, restricting the types of foods she ate, putting blocks of wood to raise the head of the bed and sometimes trying to sleep semi upright in a recliner chair crying from the pain, Jackie came across, Jackie came across a Silver Cross article in a newspaper promoting laparoscopic fundoplication surgery for acid reflux disease. She decided it was time to do something about her heartburn. "I went to a program at Silver Cross, and that's when I really decided that I needed to have it done."
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), more commonly known as acid reflux disease is a common digestive disorder in which stomach contents regurgitate (reflux) into the esophagus often causing heartburn and indigestion.
Fundoplication surgery is often used to treat GERD symptoms, and most patients never take heartburn medicine again. Dr. Brian Lahmann, board certified advanced laparoscopic surgeon, performs the procedure at Silver Cross Hospital and operated laparoscopically on Jackie last April.
During fundoplication surgery, the upper curve of the stomach is wrapped around the esophagus and sewn into place so that the lower portion of the esophagus passes through a small tunnel of stomach muscle. "The surgery strengthens the valve between the esophagus and stomach, which stops acid from backing up into the esophagus as easily. This allows the esophagus to heal," says Dr. Lahmann.
With the laparoscopic method, patients are usually in the hospital for only one to two days and have very little pain and scarring. Jackie was eating soft foods the afternoon of her surgery and went home the very next day. "I was amazed at how quick the recovery was," she said. Laparoscopic patients also have less pain after the surgery because several small incisions are made instead of one large one.
Jackie says of her experience with the Silver Cross staff, "I loved them. Everyone acted like I was their only patient."
Since her surgery, Jackie has been able to eat many of the foods she had been missing before. "I hadn't had pizza for years," she says. She recently went on a cruise and was able to enjoy the food, even though they didn't have the chocolate buffet she was looking forward to. "Just to be able to eat later and stay up at night and not have reflux was amazing."
For a referral to a physician who specializes in treating GERD, visit www.silvercross.org or call 1-888-660-HEAL.