Stretta Procedure Found Durable and Effective

Follow-up data on patients who had undergone the Stretta procedure for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflex disease (GERD) showed that 81% were still symptom free several years later. The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology in Baltimore (MD, USA).

The Stretta system consists of the Stretta catheter, a disposable, flexible catheter, and a control module. The system is used by doctors to deliver temperature-controlled radiofrequency energy to create thermal lesions in the muscle of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The 50 patients in the study were monitored for up to three years after having the procedure. The data not only showed that most were still symptom-free but also that those patients who did experience recurrence had symptoms that were much less severe than previous symptoms. None reported any long-term complications. The Stretta system was developed by Curon Medical, Inc. (Fremont, CA, USA).

"The Stretta procedure is a safe and well-tolerated prcedure for the treatment of GERD,” noted Alvaro Reymunde, M.D., Ponce Gastroenterology Research (Ponce, Puerto Rico). "It is superior to drug-induced symptom control in a significant number of cases.”





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