Medications for GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) control or suppress acid production in the stomach but do not address the cause of GERD, which is a weak sphincter muscle. Some 40% of people with GERD continue to have symptoms even while taking medication.

LINX can eliminate dependence on medication and improve a person’s quality of life. This procedure was introduced in Shreveport-Bossier at Willis-Knighton.

How It Works

LINX is a small, flexible ring of titanium beds with magnet cores that opens to allow food and liquid into the stomach and then closes to prevent stomach contents form moving up.

How It Is Inserted

LINX is inserted during a minimally-invasive laparoscopic surgical procedure. Patients generally go home within one day.

Benefits

• Prevents acid from backing up
• Minimally-invasive procedure
• Regurgitation eliminated in 99% of patients in a 5-year study
• Heartburn significantly reduced from 89% at baseline to 11.9% for patients in a 5-year study
• 85% of patients in a 5-year study remained free from dependence on GERD medication