Colorectal and anal neoplasms following liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: Liver transplantation (LT) is the treatment of choice for end-stage liver disease. The required immunosuppression increases the risk for developing malignancies. Some viruses play a crucial role. Data on neoplasms of the colon, rectum and anus in LT are limited. METHOD: A retrospective evaluation of the incidence and clinical course of colorectal and anal malignancies and colonic polyps in a series of 467 consecutive LTs in 402 individuals between 1998 and 2001 was performed. Standard immunosuppression included Tacrolimus, Mycophenolic acid and steroids. RESULTS: During a median follow up of 5.2 years, three colon adenocarcinomas, one EBV associated cecal posttransplant lymphoproliferative tumour and two HPV associated anal tumours were identified. Pre-LT colonoscopy was performed in 161 patients (40%), and of 153 evaluable individuals, 53 (34.9%) had polyps. Colonoscopy was performed in 186 patients (46.3%) median 14.8 (range 0.2-77.8) months post-LT and 55 (29.3%) had polyps. Post-LT adenomatous polyps were detected in 47.3% of patients with pre-LT polyps vs 6.7% of patients without pre-LT polyps (P < 0.001). Patients with alcoholic liver disease had a significantly higher rate of adenoma formation (50.0% vs 11.1%, P < 0.001). No patient died from colorectal/anal malignancy. CONCLUSION: The incidence of metachronous and new polyp formation in our study is similar to people who are not immunocompromised, but subgroups are at increased risk. Viral-associated malignancies, including post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders and anal cancer, are important entities in the LT population suggesting that complete screening of the colon, rectum and anus including pre-LT and post-LT colonoscopy should be utilized.

Free radical production in nicotine treated pancreatic tissue.

The ability of nicotine to induce oxidative stress in the pancreatic tissue of rats was investigated. Homogenized pancreatic tissue of Sprague-Dawley rats was incubated with nicotine in a dose of 200 ng/mg protein/ml for 15, 30, 45, and 60 min or was incubated for 30 min with nicotine in a dose of 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 ng/mg protein/ml. Pancreatic tissue was also incubated with 200 ng/mg protein/ml nicotine with or without the scavengers superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, SOD+catalase, inactivated SOD, inactivated catalase, or albumin. Incubation with 0.9% NaCl served as control. There was a positive correlation between the duration of nicotine incubation and chemiluminescence (r = 0.6) or lipid peroxidation (r = 0.71) and also between the nicotine dose and chemiluminescence (r = 0.54) or lipid peroxidation (r = 0.66). Thirty minutes incubation of pancreatic tissue with nicotine in a dose of 200 ng/mg protein/ml increased chemiluminescence 5 fold and lipid peroxidation 2.5 fold. This response was dampened by SOD or catalase and abolished by SOD+catalase. Inactivated enzymes or albumin had no scavenging effect. These results demonstrate that nicotine causes oxidative stress to the pancreatic tissue of rats.

Laparoscopic antireflux surgery for supraesophageal complications of gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease can result in such supraesophageal complications as hoarseness, sore throat, cough, bronchitis, asthma, recurrent pneumonia, intermittent choking, chest pain, and ear pain. Appropriate patient care involves careful evaluation to decide on medical or surgical therapy. Preoperative testing must include endoscopy, 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring, and esophageal manometry. Additional evaluations, such as barium swallow, chest x-ray, bronchoscopy, and sinus radiographs, may be required. Medical treatment improves gastroesophageal reflux and supraesophageal symptoms. However, surgical therapy seems to provide better long-term results. A profile that predicts the best response to medical therapy has not been identified, although the best results with surgery are achieved in patients with nocturnal asthma, onset of reflux before pulmonary symptoms, laryngeal inflammation, and a good response to medical treatment.

Surgical therapy for supraesophageal reflux complications of gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Supraesophageal complications of gastroesophageal reflux can be successfully treated by antireflux surgery. Careful preoperative testing, including 24-hour esophageal pH, manometry, and endoscopy, will help to identify appropriate patients who will benefit from surgery. The best results are achieved in patients with nocturnal asthma, the onset of reflux before pulmonary symptoms, laryngeal inflammation, and a good response to medical therapy. Cough is more responsive to surgical therapy than is asthma. The benefits of minimally-invasive surgery are evident in patients with pulmonary disease, who have a faster recovery with fewer complications than after open surgery.

The surgical option for gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common condition. Most patients can be managed with medications, but patients with refractory disease, particularly those with an incompetent lower esophageal sphincter, should be referred for surgery. The open Nissen fundoplication cures >90% of patients of their symptoms. The laparoscopic approach was first applied for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease in 1991, and since then numerous reports evaluating the early experience with this technique have been published with results similar to the open procedure. Over the last 5 years, 595 laparoscopic antireflux procedures have been performed by us. There was 1 mortality due to an unrecognized duodenal perforation. Splenic injury did not occur compared to an incidence of up to 8.5% for the open procedure. A total of 9 patients required conversion to the open procedure for perforation, bleeding, or dissection difficulties. However, in the last 350 cases no conversions have been necessary. Most patients are now being discharged from hospital on the day after surgery with some patients being discharged on the same day as surgery. The overall reoperation rate, both for early postoperative morbidity and for late poor outcome, was 3.9% with follow-up ranging from 2 months to 5 years. The laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication achieves the same short-term outcome as the open procedure with significantly less postoperative morbidity and a shorter hospital stay.

Rationale for surgical therapy of Barrett esophagus.

Barrett esophagus has malignant potential and seems to be an acquired abnormality. It is associated with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease and represents its severest form. The literature comparing medical treatment with antireflux surgery was reviewed. Questions regarding the advantages of surgery, who should undergo surgery, whether surgery can change the course of Barrett esophagus, the change in cancer risk, who needs surveillance, and cost-effectiveness were addressed. The incidence of developing Barrett cancer was 1 in 145 patient-years in reviewing 2032 patient-years of medical therapy compared with 1 in 294 patient-years in reviewing 4122 patient-years after surgery. Median follow-up time in the 2 groups was 2.7 years in the medically treated patients and 4.0 years in the surgically treated patients. Surveillance of Barrett esophagus is required irrespective of treatment. Laparoscopic antireflux surgery was found to be cost-effective after 7 years. Although these data do not prove that surgery is superior to medical treatment in the prevention of cancer related to Barrett esophagus, we found a tendency for surgery to be better than medical therapy to prevent the development and progression of Barrett carcinoma.

Relationship of spinal cord blood flow to vascular anatomy during thoracic aortic cross-clamping and shunting.

No satisfactory explanation exists as to why paraplegia occurs despite distal aortic perfusion during thoracic aortic operations. We studied the hemodynamics, paraplegia rate, and spinal cord blood flow with radioactive microspheres in 17 male adult baboons, with particular reference to the arteria radicularis magna. The groups consisted of control animals, subjected to cross-clamping for 60 minutes, and animals with aorto-aortic shunts operational for 60 minutes. There were no significant left ventricular hemodynamic advantages with shunting. Shunting significantly increased lumbar spinal cord blood flow (p = 0.0009), which correlated with the distal aortic mean pressure (r = 0.59, p = 0.008). However, lower thoracic spinal cord blood flow did not increase during shunting (p = 0.2) and did not correlate with the distal aortic pressure (r = 0.11, p = 0.64). This is due to the vascular anatomy of the anterior spinal artery, which was, as in man, smaller above (0.278 mm) than below (0.744 mm) the entry of the arteria radicularis magna. Resistance to flow, as calculated by Poiseuille's equation, was 51.7 times greater up the anterior spinal artery as compared with down this artery. The vascular anatomy explains the absence of paraplegia in one baboon in the cross-clamp group and paraplegia in one baboon in the shunt group. Thus, distal aortic perfusion protects the spinal cord below the arteria radicularis magna but not above it.

Intrathecal papaverine for the prevention of paraplegia after operation on the thoracic or thoracoabdominal aorta.

Eleven patients undergoing operation on the descending or thoracoabdominal aorta were administered papaverine intrathecally in an attempt to protect the spinal cord from ischemic damage. Concurrently, 19 patients, also undergoing operation on the thoracic or thoracoabdominal aorta, were operated on with a variety of conventional techniques, including distal aortic perfusion, but were not given intrathecal papaverine. No signs of early neurologic injury developed in any of the patients in the intrathecal papaverine group, although delayed paraparesis developed in one of the patients (9%; 70% confidence limits = 1% to 28%). On the other hand, eight of 19 patients undergoing operation with conventional techniques had either lower extremity paraparesis or paraplegia postoperatively (42%; 70% confidence limits = 29% to 57%; p = 0.058). Intrathecal papaverine appeared to provide spinal cord protection during thoracic aortic operations, particularly during prolonged periods of aortic cross-clamping. Papaverine was not associated with increased risk and may be superior to other conventionally used modalities. We conclude that continued evaluation of this technique is justified.

Management of gastric emptying disorders following the Roux-en-Y procedure.

In 46 patients with gastric resection and Roux-en-Y gastrojejunostomy, gastric emptying was studied with the gamma camera. Seventeen patients were free of symptoms, 11 vomited occasionally (less than 5 times weekly), and 18 were severely incapacitated with daily vomiting, weight loss, and bezoar formation. Patients with occasional vomiting had early rapid emptying similar to that seen in the patients who were without symptoms and responded satisfactorily to nonsurgical therapy. The 18 patients with severe vomiting showed a marked delay in the emptying of the solid meal (p less than 0.01) but normal emptying of the liquid. There was no difference between those with and those without stomal ulceration or stomal stenosis. The stasis occurred in the stomach and not in the Roux limb. All 18 patients had a further extensive gastric resection, leaving a 50 to 75 ml upper gastric remnant drained by Roux-en-Y gastroenterostomy. Fifteen of these patients showed improvement and gained weight, and the gastric emptying of both the solid and liquid test meals is now faster than in any of the other groups (p less than 0.03). We conclude that extensive gastric resection is an effective means to reduce symptoms and improve gastric emptying in selected patients with severe gastric stasis of solid food after the Roux-en-Y procedure.

Gastric mucosal injury caused by hemorrhagic shock and reperfusion: protective role of the antioxidant glutathione.

Oxygen free radicals have been implicated as mediators of gastric mucosal injury caused by ischemia/reperfusion. We investigated the role of exogenous and endogenous glutathione (reduced glutathione, GSH) in gastric mucosal injury associated with hemorrhagic shock and reperfusion. Mucosal GSH content was found to be consistently higher in the antrum than in the corpus. Ischemia (hemorrhage to 25 to 30 mm Hg) followed by retransfusion of shed blood, but not ischemia alone, caused a marked drop in gastric mucosal GSH and gross mucosal injury, which was confined to the corpus and spared the antrum. Chemical depletion of gastric mucosal GSH with diethylmaleate or inhibition of GSH synthesis with buthionine sulfoximine increased mucosal injury in the corpus and also rendered the antral mucosa susceptible to ischemia/reperfusion injury. Pretreatment with exogenous GSH provided marked protection against gross mucosal ischemia/reperfusion injury and prevented the ischemia/reperfusion-induced drop in mucosal GSH. These data suggest that the mucosal availability of the antioxidant GSH is an important protective factor against the development of gastric mucosal ischemia/reperfusion injury and supports a major role of oxygen radical release in the pathogenesis of gastric ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Clinical value of endoscopy and histology in the diagnosis of duodenogastric reflux disease.

BACKGROUND: The endoscopic observation of a bile lake in the stomach, antral gastritis, or ulcerations and the histologic finding of foveolar hyperplasia or chronic gastritis have been implicated as indicators of excessive duodenogastric reflux. The accuracy of these criteria was evaluated in 135 patients with nonspecific symptoms in the foregut suggestive of duodenogastric reflux and no evidence for alcohol- or drug-induced gastric mucosal injury. METHODS: The presence of excessive duodenogastric reflux was objectively determined by means of both gastric pH monitoring and cholescintigraphy with cholecystokinin stimulation. RESULTS: Endoscopy showed antral gastritis in 67 patients, gastric ulcers in 19, and a bile lake in the stomach in 39 (total of 135 patients). Of 90 patients who underwent biopsy, histologic findings showed foveolar hyperplasia in 26, chronic gastritis in 19, and active gastritis in 28 patients. The latter condition was associated with Helicobacter pylori in 20 patients. When gastric pH monitoring, cholescintigraphy, or both were used as "gold standard," the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive predictive value of endoscopic and histologic criteria to diagnose the presence of excessive duodenogastric reflux were poor except in the rare case of active gastritis but no Helicobacter pylori. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of duodenogastric reflux disease cannot be accurately diagnosed with endoscopic or histologic criteria. The diagnosis should be made with objective techniques, particularly when surgical therapy is considered.

Laparoscopic partial posterior fundoplication provides excellent intermediate results in GERD patients with impaired esophageal peristalsis.

BACKGROUND: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is frequently associated with impaired esophageal peristalsis, and many authorities consider this condition not suitable for Nissen fundoplication. METHODS: To investigate the outcome of antireflux surgery in the presence of impaired esophageal peristalsis, 78 consecutive GERD patients with poor esophageal contractility who underwent laparoscopic partial posterior fundoplication were studied. A standardized questionnaire, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, esophageal manometry, and 24-hour pH monitoring were performed preoperatively and at a median of 31 months (range 6-57 months) postoperatively. Esophageal motility was analyzed for contraction amplitudes in the distal two thirds of the esophagus, frequency of peristaltic, simultaneous, and interrupted waves, and the total number of defective propagations. In addition, parameters defining the function of the lower esophageal sphincter were evaluated. RESULTS: After antireflux surgery, 76 patients (97%) were free of heartburn and regurgitation and had no esophagitis on endoscopy. The rate of dysphagia decreased from 49% preoperatively to 10% postoperatively (P < .001). Features defining impaired esophageal body motility improved significantly after antireflux surgery. The median DeMeester score on 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring decreased from 33.3 to 1.1 (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Partial posterior fundoplication provides an effective antireflux barrier in patients with impaired esophageal body motility. Postoperative dysphagia is diminished, probably because of improved esophageal body function.

Direct cytotoxic effect of oxygen radicals on the gastric mucosa.

Oxygen radical release has been proposed as a pathogenetic factor in the formation of acute gastric mucosal injury. We assessed the ability of the naturally occurring oxygen radical generating system hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase (HX/XO) to cause gross gastric mucosal injury and measured the effect on regional mucosal blood flow. Local intra-arterial infusion of HX/XO into the vascular network of the stomach caused marked gross mucosal injury in the antrum and corpus. This injury occurred even in the absence of exogenous luminal acid and was aggravated by luminal acidification with 1 ml of 0.1N HCl. The selective oxygen radical scavenger superoxide dismutase (SOD) prevented mucosal injury caused by HX/XO. The effects of HX/XO and SOD were not mediated by alterations in regional gastric mucosal blood flow, as measured by the radiolabeled microspheres and reference sample method. These findings suggest that oxygen radicals are capable of causing substantial gastric mucosal injury by a direct cytotoxic effect independent of luminal acid or mucosal blood supply and give support to the concept that oxygen radical release may be a major primary pathogenetic factor in the development of acute gastric mucosal injury.

Verapamil improves survival of rat hyperemic island skin flaps.

Inability to maintain cellular calcium homeostasis is a critical factor in the pathogenesis of cellular ischemic injury and may mediate oxygen radical release in the reperfusion period. We assessed the effect of the selective calcium channel blocker verapamil on the performance of rat hyperemic island skin flaps. Pretreatment with verapamil markedly improved survival of skin flaps after 6 hours of venous cross-clamping compared with animals receiving placebo only (99% vs 53.3%; p less than 0.01). Verapamil also prevented the formation of lipid peroxidation products and the depletion of the endogenous antioxidant glutathione, suggesting that the beneficial effect of verapamil is the result of protection against oxygen radical injury. After 12 hours of venous cross-clamping, verapamil did not improve survival of skin flaps despite protection against lipid peroxidation. Oxygen radical release is therefore a crucial event in the pathogenesis of skin flap necrosis after short-term ischemia but is of less significance in long-term ischemia.

Alkaline gastroesophageal reflux: implications in the development of complications in Barrett's columnar-lined lower esophagus.

Barrett's esophagus is a common finding in patients with gastroesophageal reflux and is associated with a high incidence of serious complications (stricture, ulceration, and carcinoma). The reason that only a portion of patients with reflux develop Barrett's esophagus and why some are prone to develop complications is unknown. Twenty-three patients with Barrett's esophagus underwent endoscopy, 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring, and manometry. Nine of these patients with gastritis underwent 24-hour gastric pH monitoring, and three with symptoms of duodenogastric reflux underwent 99mTc-labeled hepato-iminodiacetic acid scanning. Patients with complicated (n = 12) and uncomplicated (n = 11) Barrett's esophagus were compared with each other and with patients with reflux esophagitis (n = 53) and normal volunteers (n = 50). Patients with Barrett's esophagus showed an increased exposure to acid and alkaline gastric juice compared with patients with esophagitis and normal volunteers. In the patients with Barrett's esophagus with and without complications, there was no significant difference in age, incidence of defective lower esophageal sphincter, incidence of defective peristalsis, extent of the Barrett's epithelium, or percent time the esophageal pH was less than 4. In contrast, the percent time the esophageal pH was greater than 7 was significantly greater in patients with complications. This alkaline exposure is likely to be related to duodenogastric reflux. This was supported by positive gastric pH scores for duodenogastric reflux and 99mTc-labeled hepato-iminodiacetic acid scans in patients with Barrett's complications. These findings suggest that the development of complications in Barrett's esophagus is the result of the damaging effect of refluxed duodenal juice.

Pathologic duodenogastric reflux associated with persistence of symptoms after cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine whether increased duodenogastric reflux contributes to postcholecystectomy symptoms. METHODS: Gastric pH monitoring, hepatobiliary scintigraphy, gastric emptying scans, and gastric acid analysis were performed in asymptomatic (n = 10) and in symptomatic (n = 27) patients after cholecystectomy. Normal subjects (n = 20), patients with dyspepsia related to gastric acid hypersecretion (n = 20), patients with reflux gastritis after gastric surgery (n = 10), and patients with confirmed primary pathologic duodenogastric reflux (n = 10) were studied as controls. Symptomatic patients also underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. RESULTS: Symptomatic patients had significantly increased interprandial gastric exposure to pH < 3 compared with asymptomatic subjects, which correlated well with a high incidence of hepatobiliary scans positive for abnormal duodenogastric reflux and chronic gastritis on endoscopy. Gastric alkaline exposure in symptomatic patients was similar to that seen in patients with primary pathologic duodenogastric reflux and patients with duodenogastric reflux related to gastric surgery. Gastric acid secretion and gastric emptying were not altered. Five patients tested before and after laparoscopic cholecystectomy showed that nocturnal gastric alkalization was enhanced after operation. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that excessive duodenogastric reflux may be responsible for persistence of symptoms after cholecystectomy.

Neuropeptide release from the isolated, perfused, lower esophageal sphincter region of the rabbit and the effect of vasoactive intestinal peptide on the sphincter.

BACKGROUND: The aim was to evaluate the isolated, vascularly perfused, lower esophageal sphincter (LES) as a model for investigating the functional role of neuropeptides such as vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). METHODS: At laparotomy the LES was removed along with the distal esophagus, stomach, and left gastric artery and vein. The LES area, isolated from the body of the stomach by a custom-made clamp, was perfused with oxygenated Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution (pH 7.4, 38 degrees C) via the left gastric artery. The LES pressure was monitored continuously with a custom-made Dent sleeve catheter. LES pressure and release of neuropeptides were investigated after carbachol and VIP were administered alone or in combination. VIP, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and somatostatin were measured in the venous perfusate collected from the left gastric vein. RESULTS: LES tone and contraction frequency were similarly increased by 10 and 100 nmol/L carbachol (increment, 4.0 +/- 0.26 mm Hg with 10 nmol/L carbachol; p less than 0.0003). Perfusion with 10 nmol/L VIP decreased basal tone and completely abolished the contraction induced by 100 nmol/L carbachol. VIP, CGRP, and somatostatin were released from the LES in response to 10 nmol/L carbachol (VIP rose from 55 +/- 13 to 179 +/- 24 pmol/L, CGRP, from 114 +/- 30 to 239 +/- 33 pmol/L, and somatostatin from 15 +/- 2 to 27 +/- 4 pmol/L; all p less than 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings support a role for VIP in the inhibitory reflex of the LES but suggest that other neuropeptides may also be involved. The isolated, perfused LES provides a new tool for investigating neuropeptide interactions.

Duodenoesophageal reflux and the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma in rats.

BACKGROUND: The carcinogenic effect of duodenoesophageal reflux, gastroesophageal reflux, and nitrosamines was studied in the rat esophagus. METHODS: Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent esophagogastroplasty to produce gastroesophageal reflux and 60 underwent duodenoesophageal anastomosis to produce duodenoesophageal reflux. Forty-three animals underwent no operation and acted as controls. Carcinogens known to produce squamous tumors in the rat esophagus (2,6-dimethylnitrosomorpholine [DMNM] or methyl-n-amylnitrosamine [MNAN]) were tested in each group. RESULTS: The rate of squamous carcinoma was 25% for rats with DMNM alone, 30% for rats with MNAN alone, and 20% for rats with induced gastroesophageal reflux plus DMNM. The rate of malignant change rose to 80% in rats with induced duodenoesophageal reflux and DMNM and 67% with duodenoesophageal reflux and MNAN. With duodenoesophageal reflux, 50% of tumors were adenocarcinoma, in contrast to 100% squamous differentiation of tumors in rats given the carcinogens with esophagogastroplasty or no operation. CONCLUSION: The presence of duodenoesophageal reflux increased the frequency and changed the histologic type of esophageal cancer in nitrosamine-treated rats. This indicates that duodenoesophageal reflux plays a role in the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Gastric remnant cancer has a better prognosis than primary gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To study the prognosis of gastric remnant cancer following radical resection (group 1) compared with that of primary gastric cancer of the upper third of the stomach following radical resection (group 2). DESIGN: Cohort study with a 5-year follow-up. SETTING: A university hospital in Austria. PATIENTS: Group 1 consisted of 43 patients, and group 2, of 61. Postoperative deaths and deaths during the follow-up period that were not related to gastric cancer were excluded. Fifteen patients in group 1 (34.9%) presented with stage I cancer; 10 (23.3%), stage II; 13 (30.2%), stage III; and five (11.6%), stage IV. Twenty patients in group 2 (32.8%) presented with stage I cancer; 12 (19.7%), stage II; 15 (24.6%), stage III; and 14 (22.9%), stage IV (Union Internationale Contre le Cancer staging classification, 1987). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall and stage-related 5-year survival rates. RESULTS: The overall 5-year survival rate was 53.5% in group 1 and 32.8% in group 2 (P < .05). The stage-related 5-year survival rate in group 1 was 100% for stage I and 80% for stage II. In group 2, the stage-related 5-year survival rate was 65% for stage I and 25% for stage II (both, P < .01). No significant difference was noted for stages III and IV. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of cancer of the gastric remnant presenting as stage I or II is good and is significantly better than that of the equivalent stages of primary cancer of the upper third of the stomach.

Laparoscopic paraesophageal hernia repair.

BACKGROUND: Paraesophageal hernias require surgery to avoid potentially serious complications. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate paraesophageal hernia repair using the laparoscopic approach. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: University hospital and foregut testing laboratory. SUBJECTS: Sixty-five consecutive patients (mean age, 63.6 years; range, 26-90 years). Preoperative evaluation included barium esophagogram, endoscopy, esophageal manometry, and 24-hour pH monitoring. OUTCOME MEASURES: Operative complications, postoperative morbidity, follow-up symptoms (53 patients; mean, 18 months; range, 2-54 months) and barium esophagogram (46 patients). RESULTS: Fifty-six patients (86%) had a type III hernia and 9 (14%) had a type II hernia. Twenty (65%) of 31 patients who underwent pH monitoring had a positive 24-hour pH score, and 24 (56%) of 43 patients who underwent manometry had an incompetent lower esophageal sphincter. Four patients had a gastric volvulus and 21 patients had more than 50% of their stomach in the chest. All patients underwent hernia reduction, crural repair, and fundoplication (64 Nissen procedures and 1 Toupet procedure). The average duration of surgery was 2 hours. There were 2 conversions: gastric perforation and a difficult dissection because of a large fibrotic sac. Other complications, all managed intraoperatively, were 2 gastric perforations and bleeding in 6 patients. Average length of hospital stay was 2 days (range, 1-23 days). Early re-operation was required in 3 patients: slipped Nissen; small-bowel obstruction due to trocar-site hernia; and organo-axial rotation with gastroduodenal obstruction. Four patients required esophageal dilatation after surgery. Forty-nine of 53 patients available for long-term follow-up were satisfied with the results of surgery. Time to full recovery was 3 weeks (range, 1 week to 2 months). Seven of 46 patients experienced small type I hernias observed on routine follow-up esophagograms. CONCLUSIONS: Most paraesophageal hernias are type III. A concomitant antireflux procedure is recommended. Paraesophageal hernias can be managed successfully by the laparoscopic route with good outcome.