Short-term Results of Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication for Reflux Esophagitis

Nobuo Omura, Hideyuki Kashiwagi, Teruaki Aoki, Yasuyoshi Morinaga*

Department of Surgery, The Jikei University School of Medicine
*Morinaga Gastro-Intestinal Hospital

We performed laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication on ten patients with reflux esophagitis, and investigated their short term results. Mean operative time, duration, of nasogastric tube insertion, diet start, and hospital length of stay after operation, were 196.0±55 min, 1.2±0.4 days, 3.3±0.8 days, and 20.4±0.8 days, respectively. Mean follow-up period after operation was one year and three months (ranging from four months to three years and one month). During the follow-up period, esophagitis in all patients remained healed, and sliding hiatal hernia did not recur except in only one patient. Moreover, intraesophageal acid exposure time was markedly decreased, improving to within the normal range except in two patients. Preoperative symptoms were almost completely diminished after surgery. Prolonged dysphagia after operation was found in one patient whose procedure was not done with calibration at the gastroesophageal junction. This patient needed reoperation. In summary, short-term results of laparosocopic Nissen fundoplication for reflux esophagitis were excellent, however, it was vey important to use an esophageal tube in making the fundic wrap.

Key words
reflux esophagitis, Nissen fundoplication, laparoscopic surgery, short-term results of laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication

Reprint requests
Nobuo Omura Department of Surgery (II), The Jikei University School of Medicine
3-25-8 Nishishinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461 JAPAN

Accepted
March 11, 1998

To read the PDF file you will need Abobe Reader installed on your computer.