How Does the TIF Procedure
Relieve GERD?
The TIF procedure with the EsophyX device forms a long, robust and tight antireflux valve at the gastroesophageal junction, the entrance from the esophagus into the stomach. This valve opens and closes as food is swallowed and becomes a physical barrier to reflux. By preventing reflux, TIF eliminates both the acidic symptoms of reflux such as heartburn and sore throat and the other symptoms such as asthma, chronic cough, and regurgitation.
TIF vs. Pharmacological Therapy
TIF is the first GERD surgical procedure that provides an incisionless anatomical solution to a disease that today is typically treated with medications, either PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) or histamine receptor antagonists (H2 blockers). However, GERD is a progressive disease, and while effective and satisfactory at first, medications can lose their effectiveness over time, leading to increased dosage, lifestyle, and diet changes, and frequently breakthrough GERD episodes.
Since pharmacological therapy does not treat the underlying root causes of reflux, the deteriorated anatomy of the antireflux barrier, life-long medication therapy is required; GERD sufferers today are often concerned about the well-known adverse effects of long-term use of PPIs, including an increased incidence of hip fractures.
Many GERD sufferers are becoming very concerned about the now well-known adverse effects of long-term use of PPIs, including osteomalacia.
