Bonnie O’Quinn’s Story
Incisonless surgery cures Bonnie O’Quinn’s acid reflux
About 60 million Americans suffer from occasional acid reflux or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Bonnie O’Quinn is no longer one of them. She had difficulty swallowing, frequent choking that made it hard to catch her breath and heartburn at night depending on what she ate. After taking anti reflux medications for a couple years, Bonnie almost accidentally found out about an incisionless surgical procedure for GERD performed by Dr. Charles Stankard, a surgeon who practices at Orange Park Medical Center.
The procedure, called TIF, for transoral incisionless fundoplication, corrects the underlying anatomical cause of GERD. Bonnie had the procedure and is now symptom free.
Normally when you swallow, the valve between your esophagus and stomach opens and closes to allow food to enter your stomach and keep stomach acid from backing up into your esophagus. This valve doesn’t close completely for people who have GERD. This leads to the symptoms associated with acid reflux, which include heartburn, the feeling of acid backing up into your throat and difficulty swallowing.
Lifestyle changes and avoiding foods that aggravate symptoms can help. Over the counter antacids and prescription medications provide symptom relief, but people with GERD may need to take medication the rest of their lives. Traditional surgery to correct the underlying anatomical problem is an option for some.
The TIF procedure is another option. It is performed without any incisions, through the mouth to reach the junction between the esophagus and the stomach and reconstruct an antireflux valve.
“To sleep better at night, I had to prop myself up,” Bonnie says, recalling the worst of her symptoms. “Exercise was hard, because the acids could just start coming up through the esophagus, and that would be uncomfortable. And it had gotten to the point where I really could not swallow. It was almost scary to feel that you couldn’t even breathe.”
Her doctor prescribed acid reflux medications. Bonnie says over time each one gradually became ineffective and her symptoms would return. “I think I probably took every one on the market,” Bonnie says. “I was feeling a little bit desperate thinking that I was getting to a point where there would not be anything for me, and I was just going to have to live with this.”
Bonnie was also worried about the side effects of some of the medications, which include interfering with the absorption of calcium, which is important for strong bones.
During this time, Bonnie switched her primary care doctor who, among other things, ordered an ultrasound of her gallbladder since she was having symptoms of gallstones. It turns out she did have large stones, and her doctor referred her to Dr. Charles Stankard. While she was in his office, Bonnie saw a poster about the TIF procedure. She asked Dr. Stankard about it. He told her as soon as she recovered from having her gallbladder out, they would talk about whether the TIF procedure was right for her.
After her gallbladder operation, Bonnie had to have a few tests, including an endoscopy, to determine if she was a good candidate for the TIF procedure. It turns out that she was.
“I was definitely excited about having it done,” Bonnie says. “I did not want to take the medications anymore that could cause me problems later. And I had already gone through one surgery with Dr. Stankard. He has a very good bedside manner and he made me feel confident that he knew exactly what to do.”
Bonnie’s procedure went smoothly and she spent the night at Orange Park Medical Center. “The care was very good,” she recalls. “I was very well taken care of.”
A few months after the procedure Bonnie was symptom free and no longer taking any acid reflux medications. “You don’t know until afterwards how much better you feel. Not to have all these problems, and not having your sleep interrupted every night. I feel great. I highly recommend the procedure to anyone who’s suffering from acid reflux, because there’s no need to suffer.”