Stretta Procedure for GERD
Anyone familiar with the Stretta procure for GERD ?
And how effective it is?
Have had silent reflux for a lot of years and the PPIs I have been on are starting to lose there effectiveness.
Is it better than Nissen fundoplication ?
Certainly seems to be a lot less invasive. Thanks B
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Digestive Health Support Group.
Hello @billgil, Welcome to Connect. @mmax mentioned they were researching the procedure in 2019 in another discussion but never received an answer or posted followup information. Here is a link to their post - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/160530/. Here is some information I found on the topic while we wait for other members to respond.
-- Stretta Procedure: Effectiveness and Benefits | Healthline:
https://www.healthline.com/health/gerd/stretta-procedure
Have you discussed the possible effectiveness and benefits of the Stretta procedure with your doctor?
I'm also wondering about the Stretta procedure. My doctor said that it wasn't being performed anymore where he worked but that they were considering whether to reinstate it. On the internet I saw one article from 2015 that said it wasn't really significantly useful (https://www.nghd.pt/uploads/radiofrequency_ablation_in_gerd_1.pdf), so I'm also wondering what the latest situation is.
Aside from this, I wonder if anyone knows if one should consider electrical stimulation therapy (EST) for GERD. Also, I wonder if you can use an external TENS machine without implantation and introduce the electrical stimulation that way. I even tried it... but found that I had no idea where to place the electrodes, and especially I was concerned because I found that when I put it where I wanted to, it also caused my heart to jump... If TENS could work externally this would be the best solution - if the stimulation could shock the LES sphincter into closing better? I got to thinking about this direction because after doing an endoscopy I found that I felt less acid leaking, so I was wondering if the trauma of the procedure shocked the sphincter into closing better. (Unfortunately the great improvement after the endoscopy lasted a short time, and then the situation was only somewhat better than before the endoscopy. The doctor has no idea why I should feel any better after the endoscopy and thinks I'm somewhat nuts.)
Also, @billgil , I think you should see if there were other factors that caused your GERD to flare up and not that the PPI is not effective. (By me I think it was caused by carrying something very very heavy)
It might be a temporary flare up, so if you can identify what might have caused it (stress, food, etc...), maybe you can get back to a stable situation.
Has anyone tried diaphragm exercises for GERD ??? There is some evidence they work.