St. Aloisius Heartburn Clinic
STRETTA PROCEDURE

St. Aloisius Medical Center and Dr. Ed Corpus, Chief of Surgical Services are pleased to announce the introductions of a new, minimally invasive method to treat patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), more often referred to as HEARTBURN. According to Curon Medical, developers of the procedure, St. Aloisius Medical Center is the only medical facility in the state to offer this new and exciting ground breaking treatment.

GERD affects approximately 16 million adults in the United States alone. Most often patients with GERD take daily doses of medication for a lifetime.

Symptoms of GERD include significant heartburn, acid regurgitation, cough, difficulty swallowing, sore throat, hoarse voice, sleep disturbance, and breathing difficulties due to exacerbation of asthma. Studies also show that many patients with bronchial asthma suffer from GERD as well. Acid reflux has been identified as a significant contributing factor in a substantial percentage of asthma patients. In many patients the need for asthma medication is reduced or eliminated.

Currently, the most common options available for GERD patients are lifetime drug therapy or surgery, in contrast to surgical methods which are very costly and require hospitalization.

The STRETTA PROCEDURE can be performed as an outpatient procedure in about 45-60 minutes. The patient is given conscious sedation ( the same sedation used for your endoscopy procedure). An instrument is passed through the mouth, so there are no visible cuts or scars that result from the procedure. After a brief recovery period patients typically go home 1-2 hours after the procedure with the help of family or a friend. Most individuals can return to normal activities the following day. The STRETTA PROCEDURE is approximately one-fifth the cost of the surgery and a fraction of the cost of long term medication usage.

1. The catheter is placed through the mouth and into the valve between the stomach and the esophagus.	2. The physician then delivers safe, controlled levels of radiofrequency (RF) energy to the LES muscle and the gastric cardia (uppermost part of the stomach) to create thermal lesions.	3. When the lesions heal, the barrier function of the LES is improved reducing the frequency and severity of reflux.

If you have any of these symptoms or are interested in discussing the additional therapeutic options available to please call the St. Aloisius Heartburn Clinic at 701-324-4651 Ext. 301.

We are very excited to offer this new procedure in an effort to provide the most comprehensive treatment options for GERD patients.