Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication decreases gastroesophageal junction distensibility in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF) is the surgical treatment of choice for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Post-LNF complications, such as gas bloat syndrome, inability to belch and vomit, and dysphagia, remain too common and prevent LNF from being more highly recommended. It remains controversial as to whether preoperative assessment can predict the development of post-LNF complications. Some authors have shown a correlation between pre-LNF manometry characteristics and post-LNF dysphagia, and others have not. We hypothesize that many post-LNF complications are caused by a decrease in the distensibility of the GEJ and that standard manometry is at best an indirect measure of this. The aim of this study is to directly measure the effect of LNF on gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) distensibility (GEJD). The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) of 15 patients undergoing LNF was characterized using standard manometry. The GEJD before and after a standardized LNF was measured using a specialized catheter, containing an infinitely compliant bag, placed within the LES. GEJD was measured, as dV/dP over volumes 5 to 25 mL distended at a rate of 20 mL/min. Mean dP +/- standard error of the mean for each volume was calculated, and distensibility curves were generated and compared. Measurements were also taken after abolishing LES tone by mid-esophageal balloon distension. Patient symptoms were recorded before and after surgery. Statistical analysis was performed by two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance, paired t test, and the Tukey test. Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication led to a statistically significant increase in Delta pressure over each volume tested and therefore a significant decrease in the distensibility of the GEJ. Abolition of LES tone had no statistical effect on GEJD after fundoplication. There were no complications, and none of the patients developed the symptom of dysphagia postoperatively. These are the first direct measurements to show that LNF significantly reduces the distensibility of the GEJ. We hypothesize that the magnitude of this reduction may be the vital variable in the development of post-LNF complications and specifically post-LNF dysphagia. The intraoperative measurement of LES distensibility may provide a means for avoiding this feared and other post-LNF complications in the future.

Surgical management of esophageal malignancy.

Esophageal carcinoma is a highly lethal disease with increasing prevalence and an equally dramatic epidemiologic shift. Its causal association with gastroesophageal reflux disease and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is well established, and the molecular events underlying this progression from mucosal injury to metaplasia to dysplasia to carcinoma are now becoming clear. Current diagnostic modalities and preoperative staging systems have significant limitations. The extent of surgical resection for esophageal carcinoma remains controversial. Disease confined to the mucosa and submucosa is more common, and endoscopic ablative techniques have been proposed. However, preoperative evaluation of tumor depth and regional nodal metastases remains inadequate in these very early lesions and urges caution before adoption of therapies that may compromise cure. Patients with disease confined to the mucosa or submucosa should undergo resectional therapy aimed at removing the entire esophageal wall, including the periesophageal and perihiatal lymph nodes. For disease penetrating the submucosa, the extent of surgical therapy must be tailored to the objectives of treatment (cure vs palliation) and preoperative stage. Although data from seven prospective, randomized trials are encouraging, no clear survival benefit has been documented for neoadjuvant combined-modality therapy. Surgical resection remains the standard of care and best chance for cure in the treatment of esophageal malignancy, with combined-modality therapy reserved for prohibitive surgery candidates.

Physiologic mechanism and preoperative prediction of new-onset dysphagia after laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication.

The aim of this study was to determine whether preoperative physiologic factors can account for and be used to predict the development of postoperative dysphagia after laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. One hundred sixty-three patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease underwent laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication with a median follow-up of 14 months (range 6 to 81 months). Preoperative dysphagia was present in 37% (60 of 163) and was relieved in all but five patients (92%). Female sex (P = 0.01) and the presence of a stricture (P = 0.02) were the only preoperative variables associated with the presence of preoperative dysphagia. Eight percent (8 of 103) of patients without preoperative dysphagia developed new-onset dysphagia, and of these 63% (5 of 8) had a normal lower esophageal sphincter (LES) (pressure >6 mm Hg; length >2 cm; abdominal length >1 cm). New-onset dysphagia was significantly more common in patients with a normal LES (22% [5 of 23] vs. 4% [3 of 80], P = 001). Patients with a normal LES had almost a sixfold increase in the risk of developing dysphagia as those with an abnormal LES (relative risk = 5.8). Only a preoperative normal LES (P = 0.02) or mean LES pressures (P = 0.04) were positively associated with the development of postoperative dysphagia. The severity of this dysphagia also showed a strong positive trend of increasing with mean preoperative LES pressures (P = 0.07). Finally, preoperative LES pressure significantly correlated with postoperative LES pressure (r = 0.48, P = 0.01) and with mean residual LES (nadir) pressure (r = 0.33, P = 0.05) offering insight into the mechanism of this dysphagia. In conclusion, preoperative LES parameters play a role in the development of dysphagia after laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. Patients with a normal LES or high mean LES pressures are at increased risk for developing this complication and should be informed of this before laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication.