Device Helps Doctors Treat Barrett's Esophagus

Did you know that  Americans spend more than half a billion dollars a year on antacids to treat heartburn; and although it can be a temporary problem, heartburn can also be a sign of acid reflux which can lead to Barrett's esophagus and cancer.

Now, however, doctors have a hot, new weapon to stop the condition before it turns deadly.

As a consultant, Thomas Pyzdek is used to solving problems for his clients. So when doctors wanted to take the traditional 'wait and see' approach to his Barrett's esophagus, he said no.

"I wanted to see if there was someone out there who had identified the root cause of this problem," Pyzdek explains.

That's when he heard about a clinical trial conducted by Dr. Virender Sharma at the Mayo Clinic.

"One of the complications of acid reflux is Barrett's esophagus," Dr. Sharma adds. "Barrett's esophagus is a pre-cancerous condition that affects about 10% of the patients with acid reflux."

To treat Barrett's, Dr. Sharma tested a balloon device that uses radio frequency energy to burn the esophageal lining.

"This is done in a very controlled fashion where we just burn the abnormal lining, not damaging any of the normal esophageal tissue and then these patients are put on strong medication to control acid reflux."

Usually Barrett's esophagus is treated with endoscopic biopsies and in extreme cases where cancer is present the esophagus is removed.

"Now we have treatments to get rid of the Barrett's esophagus in the hopes of getting rid of the risk of cancer," Sharma adds.

Sharma says the early results are promising: 98-percent of study participants were able to get rid of their Barrett's esophagus.

Dr. Sharma plans to follow the study patients for the next ten years to see if the treatment is still effective. He suggests that if you have heartburn more than twice a week you should see your doctor to make sure it's not something more serious.

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