ALBEMARLE, N.C. -- A gastroenterologist at Stanly Regional Medical Center is one of the first doctors in North Carolina to perform an innovative procedure that can help reduce the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GERD).

Dr. Ravi Reddy recently began offering to patients the Plicator, a non-surgical outpatient procedure that has been shown to reduce or even completely eliminate symptoms and medication use associated with GERD.

“We are very excited about this new procedure to treat GERD,” Reddy said. “Reflux can be a very debilitating condition and this procedure gives patients a viable alternative to long-term drug use or anti-reflux surgery.”

GERD is a term used to describe the variety of symptoms and forms of tissue damage resulting from the chronic reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. Millions of Americans suffer from daily heartburn, the most common symptom of GERD. Normally, a muscular valve keeps stomach contents from refluxing up into the esophagus. However, in GERD, this valve is weak or relaxes too frequently, allowing stomach contents to flow freely into the esophagus, causing pain or injury to the area. The Plicator procedure is an endoscopic, FDA-approved treatment designed to correct the underlying mechanical defect that causes GERD. The procedure allows physicians to tighten the valve between the esophagus and stomach, restoring the normal anti-reflux barrier. The Plicator procedure is performed under conscious sedation, typically in 30 minutes or less, and allows patients to return home the same day. “Patients who are appropriate for this procedure can really experience significant clinical improvement in symptoms as well as quality of life issues,” Reddy explained.

Until recently, treatment options for GERD have been limited to chronic drug therapy or anti-reflux surgery. While prescription medications help suppress acid production, they do no prevent the physical backflow of gastric contents into the esophagus. Anti-reflux surgery is effective in addressing the root cause of GERD by correcting the weakened valve mechanism, but such surgery requires general anesthesia, multiple incisions and a recovery period lasting several days.

The Plicator is the only endoscopic GERD treatment that mimics tissue restructuring performed during ant-reflux surgery.