GERD surgery - other options?

When your last option is surgery, choosing what is right for you can be tough. The best you can do is learn as much as you can and meet with surgeons that perform the different procedures.

I didn't consider anything other than Nissen. It has been around for 50+ years, has had decades to be perfected, and there is a wealth of information and data about it. You go into a Nissen knowing exactly what you are getting yourself into. Sure there are risks and possible side effects, but there are with every type of surgery. They aren't any higher with Nissen. If you find a skilled and knowledgeable surgeon, your chances of complication are very low. My surgeon's complication rate is under 5%, and most of those are very minor.

I wouldn't say at all that TIF and LINX are less successful. They are newer, so there are fewer surgeons, and there's less information out there. But I wouldn't rule them out in your research. Lots of people find success in them on this message board. As for being "less invasive," that is subjective. To me, Nissen is much less invasive than LINX as LINX requires a device to be implanted in you. But someone else could consider that better. Just depends on the person.

My advice is, if you are unsure about having surgery, then you don't need it yet. If you just started treatment, there is hope. MOST people are cured by diet or medicine. A very small percentage need surgery. I tried extensive treatments for 2 years before deciding on surgery. When I made the decision, I had no other choices at all. There wasn't any trying another medicine, or diet. GERD was causing me to nearly lose my job, my friends, everything, and I couldn't keep living like that. I was at the end of the rope, and I was willing to risk any side effects or complications for a shot at being a normal person again. If you aren't yet at that point, I would continue to try medication (and if one doesn't work, try another, there are MANY) and diet changes. Hopefully that is the solution for your symptoms.