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Anti-reflux surgery - children - Risks

Alternative Names

Fundoplication - children; Nissen fundoplication - children; Belsey (Mark IV) fundoplication - children; Toupet fundoplication - children; Thal fundoplication - children; Hiatal hernia repair - children; Endoluminal fundoplication - children

Risks:

Risks for any anesthesia are:

Reactions to medicines
Breathing problems, including pneumonia
Heart problems

Risks for any surgery are:

Bleeding
Infection

Risks for this surgery are:

Gas bloat, which makes it hard to burp or throw up. It also causes bloating after meals. These symptoms slowly get better for most people.
Pain and difficulty swallowing, called dysphagia. For most children, this goes away in the first 3 months after surgery.
Gagging, gas, and bloating
Damage to the stomach, esophagus, liver, or small intestine. This is very rare.
Breathing or lung problems, such as a collapsed lung. This is also rare.
The repair may be too loose. This makes the surgery ineffective.

Reviewed last on: 3/6/2009
George F Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Brant K. Oelschlager BK, Eubanks TR, Pellegrini CA. Hiatal Hernia and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 42.

Orenstein S, Peters J, Khan S, Youssef N, Hussain SZ. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 320.

Lobe TE. The current role of laparoscopic surgery for gastroesophageal reflux disease in infants and children. Surg Endosc. 2007 Feb;21(2):167-74.

Saedon M, Gourgiotis S, Germanos S. Is there a changing trend in surgical management of gastroesophageal reflux disease in children? World J Gastroenterol. 2007 Sep 7;13(33):4417-22.

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