The Salgi Esophageal Cancer Research Foundation

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced approval of a new surgical device to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease otherwise known as GERD.

The device is called “The LINK Reflux Management System” and is surgically placed for patients who have chronic acid reflux (GERD) and for those patients whose symptoms are not relieved from regular use of medical therapy or for those who want to avoid a lifetime of medical therapy.

The lower esophageal sphincter is a muscle which connects from the stomach to the esophagus and prevents the backflow of stomach acid, food and drink back up into the esophagus.  When this muscle does not function properly, stomach contents flow back up into the esophagus, causing reflux and irritation to the esophagus.  Over time, this can lead to a pre-cancerous condition called Barrett’s Esophagus or esophageal cancer.

A series of titanium beads each with a magnetic core, in the shape of a ring, are connected with titanium wires and implanted at the lower esophageal sphincter to help prevent stomach contents from flowing back up into the esophagus.

To read more about the new LINK Reflux Management System, you can read the official news release.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 12:49 pm and is filed under The Salgi Foundation - Esophageal Cancer Awareness, Early Detection & Research. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.