Now, a pacemaker for the food pipe
NEW DELHI: For patients suffering from acid reflux that cannot be managed with medicines, here is some good news. A device developed by a former AIIMS doctor promises to treat the condition by controlling the movement of food into the stomach. Endostim, or pacemaker for the food pipe, was recently implanted in a 23-year-old IT professional with chronic inflammation of the food pipe at Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon.
“Normally, such patients have to deal with the side-effects of lifelong medication, or undergo complex surgery to create a barrier that keeps the stomach acid from flowing backwards, or tighten the lower oesophageal sphincter. The pacemaker is a much simpler and more effective way of dealing with the condition,” said Dr Sandeep Malhotra, associate director and the gastrointestinal surgeon who conducted the procedure. He said the patient, Raghunandan from Bangalore, is doing well after the surgery.
It takes less than an hour to implant the device. Lead electrodes are attached to the lower end of the food pipe through laparoscopy and connected to Endostim, run by battery, placed beneath the skin of the abdomen. The device is programmed to send a a regular stream of electronic signals for ensuring muscle contraction.
Acid reflux is a chronic digestive condition characterized by backflow (reflux) of stomach acid or bile into the food pipe (oesophagus). The backwash irritates the lining of the oesophagus and causes a burning sensation in the chest, sometimes spreading to the throat, with a sour aftertaste. Obese, diabetics, pregnant women, children, hiatal hernia patients, smokers are at risk, said Dr Malhotra, adding the pacemaker works by controlling the muscle that would choke acid reflux.
The innovative device has been termed a breakthrough. “The technology has been invented by a former AIIMS doctor, Dr Virendra Sharma, now based in Arizona.
He was among the faculty at the department of medicine, division of gastroenterology and hepatology, and director, oesophageal clinic at Mayo Clinic,” said an official of Invive Healthcare. that is marketing the product in India.