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t felt like déjà vu for Katherine Weiss, 52, of Colts Neck. Last winter, the mother of three teenage boys started feeling familiar symptoms of hiatal hernia—difficulty swallowing, heartburn and regurgitation. “When I ate, acid would come up, making it hard to swallow,” Katherine says. “It felt like someone had poured acid down the back of my throat.” The symptoms had previously plagued Katherine for almost a year, forcing her to take strong acid-blocking medications and eventually undergo surgery. This time, however, her condition was compounded by a scary, new symptom— choking on food that was stuck in her throat. Fortunately, Katherine turned out to be an ideal candidate for a new technology called the EndoFLIP Impedance Planimetry System, which has resolved her problem, possibly for good.
FIGHTING THE FIRE
Katherine Weiss can enjoy going out again after specialized surgery using innovative technology at MMC allowed her to eat comfortably.
GUT CHECK A NEW DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGY ENHANCES RELIEF FROM DIGESTIVE DISTRESS.
Healthy Together
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Katherine’s ordeal began two years ago, when she experienced the first symptoms of hiatal hernia. The condition happens when part of the stomach pushes into the chest through an opening where the esophagus and stomach meet. To avoid aggravating her acid reflux, Katherine eliminated spicy foods and coffee, and even stopped eating out. “It changed my feelings about going out or enjoying a meal,” she says. “It got to the point that everything around food made me miserable.” Katherine’s doctor put her on a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), a medication that reduced the stomach’s acid production and relieved her discomfort. “But it’s not good to stay on those for a long time,” Katherine says. Research links PPIs to problems such as kidney disease, cardiovascular problems and vitamin deficiencies, so DMITRY OLEYNIKOV, MD
Winter 2022
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