NEW YORK—The Center for Scarless Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center is now offering a unique incision-free procedure called transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF) for patients with severe, chronic acid reflux disease. In addition, new research indicates that continued drug therapy may cause calcium depletion, contributing to osteoporosis.
“Drug therapy, when it works, is simply masking an underlying anatomic defect. The TIF procedure corrects the source of the problem by repairing the faulty lower esophageal sphincter in order to keep stomach acid where it belongs," said Marc Bessler, MD, director of laparoscopic surgery and director of the Center for Obesity Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and assistant professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The procedure is performed under general anesthesia and takes less than an hour. The clinician inserts a specially-designed device through the patient's mouth and into the stomach, just below the gastroesophageal junction, where tissue is molded to create a new valve.