GERD Recurrence Fairly Common Following Laparoscopic Antireflux Surgery

By Kelly Young

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Recurrence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is relatively common among patients who have laparoscopic antireflux surgery, potentially diminishing some of the surgery's benefits, suggests a retrospective study in JAMA.

Using Swedish national registries, researchers identified 2700 adults with GERD who underwent primary laparoscopic antireflux surgery between 2005 and 2014. During a mean 5 years' follow-up, 18% experienced reflux recurrence — defined as either receipt of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) or histamine-2-receptor antagonists for 6 months, or secondary surgery. Patients who were aged 61 or older, were female, or had comorbidities were more likely to experience recurrence.

The 30-day complication rate after the primary surgery was 4%.

An editorialist speculates that "young and otherwise healthy men" might find laparoscopic antireflux surgery to be appealing, as they "seem to have the lowest rate of GERD recurrence after antireflux surgery and ... otherwise would likely require decades of PPI treatment without the operation."