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Surgery for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has become increasingly common, but does it really reduce long-term use of antireflux medications? To answer this question, investigators reviewed postsurgery data on all adults who underwent antireflux surgery at Veterans Affairs medical centers between mid-1990 and early 2001. Medication use was determined for 2406 patients who had at least 1 year of follow-up after surgery.
During a median follow-up of 4.5 years, 49.8% of patients received at least three prescriptions for GERD medications, including proton-pump inhibitors (34%), H2-receptor antagonists (24%), and promotility agents (9%). Complications of surgery included dysphagia (19%), esophageal dilation (6%), and redo-fundoplication (…