For many, heartburn is the occasional nuisance. For others, it poses a major impact to their quality of life.
Now, a new procedure at Tanner is offering lasting relief for chronic heartburn — without meds and without dietary challenges.
The condition and the innovative new treatment at Tanner will be the topic of a discussion Tanner Health System is hosting Thursday, April 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Sewell Mill in Bremen. The discussion will feature two board-certified physicians — John Arledge, MD, a digestive disease specialist with West Georgia Gastroenterology Associates, and José Espinel, MD, a surgeon with Carrollton Surgical Group.
Registration is required. Those interested can register for free online at visit tanner.org/heartburn. Light refreshments will be served at the event.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, affects about 20 percent of the American population, according to the National Institution of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. It’s commonly diagnosed among people who experience acid reflux two or more times a week for weeks at a time.
Reflux occurs when the acid from the stomach washes up into the esophagus, which carries food from your mouth to your stomach. This usually happens when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) — the band of muscle at the top of the stomach — becomes weakened or impaired so that it cannot close completely, allowing the acid to escape the stomach.
Dr. Arledge and Dr. Espinel will discuss the diagnosis of GERD and effective, clinically based treatments — including a new, minimally invasive outpatient procedure that has been shown to provide resolution for reflux symptoms in the overwhelming majority of patients, with 99 percent of patients reporting that heartburn no longer interrupted their sleep and 97 percent reporting that they no longer have to alter their daily diets to avoid reflux.
Dr. Arledge is board-certified in gastroenterology. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. He also completed his internship and residency at the Medical College of Virginia and a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of South Florida.
Dr. Espinel is board-certified in general surgery. He earned his medical degree from Universidad Catolica Santiago de Guayaquil in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and completed his residency in general surgery at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J. Dr. Espinel also completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass. Dr. Espinel performs a variety of surgeries, including minimally invasive surgery for GERD and robotic-assisted hernia surgery.
The discussion is part of Tanner’s Advancing Your Health Education Series, providing residents with access to free health information from the region’s leading health experts and covering a wide range of topics, including heart disease, orthopedics, digestive health and more. Other upcoming opportunities can be found in the Classes and Events calendar at www.tanner.org/calendar.