What Is a Typical Pre-Bariatric Surgery Diet?
Bariatric surgery is a big step. You’re committing to make lifestyle changes. This type of surgery requires dietary changes both before and after your operation.
The LINX Procedure: What to Expect
If you’ve been dealing with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) for a while and it hasn’t gotten better, you need to find alternative solutions.
Eating a good meal is one of life’s pleasures, but GERD can destroy your relationship with food. After eating, you may experience painful heartburn, which can lead to nausea and sometimes vomiting. You may be at the point where you don’t know what to eat.
Your primary care provider may have recommended that you investigate the LINX procedure. At Turnquest Surgical Solutions, our board-certified bariatric surgeons, Dexter Turnquest, MD, and Victoria C. Chang, MD, relieve our patients’ GERD pain using LINX surgery.
How the LINX procedure helps relieve acid reflux
When you have GERD, your lower esophageal sphincter muscle (LES) isn’t working properly. It’s a muscle that connects your esophagus to your stomach.
When you eat, it should open to let food pass and then close after you swallow. If your muscle doesn’t close all of the way, it allows stomach acid to flow back up into your throat and esophagus.
The LINX procedure solves this problem. We place a circle of magnetic titanium beads around your LES muscle. When you’re eating, the circle opens to allow food to pass through the opening. After you swallow, the magnets close the opening.
Preparation for LINX surgery
To ensure a proper diagnosis, we perform an upper endoscopy to get a good view of your esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. Don’t worry about discomfort; you’ll be sedated. We perform several tests during the procedure.
What happens during LINX surgery
We place you under general anesthesia for LINX surgery, then perform the LINX procedure using minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.
We make a few tiny incisions at the surgical site in your abdomen. Using small instruments, we place the LINX device around your lower esophagus, which is just above your stomach.
We may find and repair a hiatal hernia during the LINX procedure. A hernia can weaken your lower esophageal sphincter muscle, causing stomach acid to bubble back up into your esophagus and throat.
Recovery from the LINX procedure
You’ll experience a swift recovery from this minimally invasive procedure. Many of our patients go home the same day of the surgery. One caveat: Because you have titanium beads inside your body, you’ll be limited in the types of MRIs you can receive in the future.
You can resume a normal diet the day after the LINX treatment. Because the LINX procedure stops food acids from entering your esophagus, you’ll feel better right away. You’ll very likely be able to eliminate acid reflux medication.
Call us at one of our Houston, Texas, locations or request an appointment online today if you have painful GERD symptoms.
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