Gastroparesis

Because food isn’t leaving the stomach, symptoms of gastroparesis can include bloating, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

The most common types of gastroparesis treated by Lincoln Surgical are diabetic and idiopathic gastroparesis, and the recommended treatment depends on the type.

Diabetic gastroparesis

For diabetic gastroparesis, we can perform a pyloroplasty or put in a gastric stimulator.

Pyloroplasty is a surgical procedure that involves widening the pylorus, the muscular valve between the stomach and the first part of the small bowel. This procedure can be performed endoscopically (with a scope down the throat), which is called a POEM or peroral endoscopic pyloromyotomy. It can also be done laparoscopically with tiny incisions in the abdomen.

Sometimes we skip the pyloromyotomy in diabetic gastroparesis and put in a gastric stimulator. That is an implantable device that helps to stimulate the stomach to empty.

Idiopathic gastroparesis

With idiopathic gastroparesis, we usually start with a pyloromyotomy or pyloroplasty using either an endoscopic or laparoscopic approach. We move on to other techniques after that.