These procedures, however, have come into doubt with the recent recall of the Enteryx method, a technique that allowed doctors to inject a special liquid into the walls of the esophagus. The liquid would then solidify, tightening the opening between the stomach and esophagus. Of the procedures that are in use, Enteryx seemed the most promising.
"If anything seemed like it would stand the test of time, it would be Enteryx," says Dr. Philip Katz, chairman of the division of gastroenterology at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.
One study even showed that over 85 percent of patients who had the surgery had discontinued using proton-pump inhibitor drugs (PPIs), like Prilosec and Nexium, a year after the surgery.
But the manufacturer recalled Enteryx on September 23, 2005, citing a limited number of cases where the liquid spread throughout the gastrointestinal wall, causing serious inflammation of the lining of the lung.
Now that Enteryx is no longer available, patients have to look to other procedures that have lower success rates.
Other Options Less Promising
Older types of endoscopic surgery, called gastric plication, use stitches to create folds in the esophagus's opening, cinching it in like pleats in a pair of pants. The surgery can be performed with a few different suturing methods that have varying levels of success.
