Medicine Grand Rounds, Marco Patti “Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: From Heartburn to Lung Fibrosis and Beyond”

This lecture will focus on the relationship between GERD and respiratory disorders–in particular, the possible cause and effect relationship between GERD and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Dr. Patti will review the possible role of GERD in rejection after lung transplantation. Strategies for addressing these problems will be presented.

Marco G. Patti, MD, is an internationally known surgeon with extensive expertise in the surgical treatment of esophageal diseases. He is one of the few surgeons in the United States who focus entirely on the surgical treatment of esophageal disease, specializing in treatment of swallowing disorders, acid reflux and esophageal cancer.

Patti is an authority on the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques to treat esophageal conditions. Performed through very small incisions with the use of specialized instruments and miniature cameras, this approach can lead to a quicker and more comfortable recovery, a shorter hospital stay and minimal scarring. “Because some of these disorders are so common, many people tend to live with the discomfort rather than seek treatment,” said Patti. “So when they finally come to us, they already have fairly advanced disease.”

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, known as GERD, affects an estimated two to three percent of adults. In patients with GERD, a muscle that separates the esophagus from the stomach does not close properly. This allows stomach contents to leak back, or reflux, into the esophagus and irritate it. Although GERD can usually be treated with lifestyle and diet changes combined with medication, chronic reflux can cause serious complications. Repeated exposure to stomach acid can damage the esophagus and cause bleeding or ulcers. Scar tissue can narrow the esophagus and impair swallowing. Some patients with chronic GERD develop Barrett’s esophagus, in which some of the lining of the esophagus is replaced by tissue similar to that in the intestine. This condition, which affects about 700,000 adults in the United States, can progress to esophageal cancer, which is often fatal.

“Physicians are slowly becoming more aggressive about treating these disorder before the complications begin,” Patti said. “I have seen too many patients who slowly develop serious damage while struggling with ineffective medications, when a simple operation could have solved the problem.”