Having surgery

The procedure is done under general anaesthetic. 

The surgeon will use keyhole surgery to make 4 to 5 small incisions in your tummy (abdomen). A small amount of tissue around the lower oesophageal sphincter will be cut away to create a small tunnel in which the LINX® device will be placed. 

The procedure usually takes less than 1 hour and starts working immediately. 

You will wake up in the recovery area where you will be monitored and your wound sites checked. You can start eating normal food straight away. 

When you are comfortable and your blood pressure and heart rate is stable, you can leave hospital on the same day. We will give you information about aftercare. 

Pain

You may be sore around the stitches in your tummy, but this should resolve quickly. You may also feel a slight pressure above your tummy around the bottom of your rib cage. 

With keyhole surgery you should recover quicker and have less pain than having traditional open surgery. 

You will be given pain relief and a prescription for painkillers for when you leave hospital.

Recovery

The nurses will give you instructions about pain relief and further information about how to look after yourself when you get home.

• Start on soft small frequent meals.
• Some people become constipated and may need to take laxatives if they can’t go to the toilet. 
• You can return to non-strenuous activity within a couple of days. 
• You may drive when you can confidently perform an emergency stop, but you should check with your insurance company about when you are covered to drive again.
• You can return to work after one to two weeks if feeling comfortable. 
• Strenuous activity should be avoided for four weeks.

Diet

It is important to stay on a soft diet immediately after surgery and to eat every two to three hours. 

Try to return to a normal diet as quickly as you can, as this helps your body adapt to the LINX system. 

At first you should be able to swallow without any difficulty for up to 7 to 10 days. After that around 80 out of 100 people have difficulty swallowing. This normally happens because of inflammation and swelling around the surgical site or a temporary change in how the oesophagus is able to move. 

Swallowing will start to get better after 6 to 8 weeks, with full recovery expected after 12 to 16 weeks. 

Follow-up appointment

You will have an appointment to see your surgeon in the outpatient department approximately 6 weeks after the surgery.