Gastric Neurostimulator Helps Patients with Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis is a digestive disorder in which food moves through the stomach abnormally slow. Approximately 20% of persons with type-1 diabetes will develop gastroparesis in their lifetime. And although there are a number of additional causes for gastroparesis including anorexia and bulimia, lupus, and brain disorders, nearly 60% of the cases have no known cause. Many persons suffering from gastroparesis have difficulty eating, and experience severe, chronic vomiting and nausea. Some patients may even require tube feeding to ensure adequate nutrition.
Gastric Electrical Stimulation (GES)
GES utilizes an electrical device called a gastric pacemaker to provide mild stimulation to the lower stomach nerves. These mild electrical pulses encourage the stomach to contract and help relieve nausea and vomiting. "The electrical stimulator is a major advance for the treatment of patients with gastroparesis," states William J. Snape Jr., M.D. the medical director of the California Pacific Medical Center Motility Program. The GES device is approximately 2½" long, 2" wide and ½" thick and is implanted just under the skin’s surface below the rib cage in the abdomen using minimally invasive surgical techniques. This therapy is reversible and can be turned off at any time by a physician. Patients rarely notice the mild stimulation to the stomach. Although the symptom reduction is gradual, a high percentage of patients have reported a significant decrease in vomiting frequency.
GES Patient Julie F.
Patient Julie F. was sick for over a year before she had GES surgery at age 22. "I first became ill with gastreoparesis in September of 2002. I woke up one morning with what I thought was the stomach flu, and just never really got better. I lost about 35 pounds that first month because I had to severely limit my diet. If I was eating at all, it was only crackers, chicken broth and water. I to sleep sitting up and even had to quit college because I was so worn down all the time," Julie stated.
Julie continued, "I was about 50 pounds lighter and my hair was starting to fall out when my local GI doctor finally diagnosed me with gastreoparesis. After I had the gastric stimulator implanted I started feeling better almost immediately. I’ve been able to increase my diet tremendously and am now able to go out to eat with my friends and family. I even ate Thanksgiving dinner for the first time in two years and have returned to college. I finally feel like a normal person again! The gastric stimulator has given me my life back."
FDA Approval
In the fall of 1999 the FDA designated the gastric electrical stimulation Enterra™ Therapy system as a Humanitarian Use Device. Humanitarian Use Devices are medical devices specially designated by the FDA for use in treatment of rare medical conditions with an incidence of less than 4,000 patients per year. Gastric electrical stimulation (GES) is used only when persons do not respond or are intolerant of medications used in controlling symptoms that can be serious, including malnutrition and severe dehydration. California Pacific’s Motility Program is one of the only facilities in Northern California approved to perform GES implantation.
