Follow-up of patients submitted to antireflux laparoscopic treatment. A study by a telephone questionnaire

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: As it is difficult to submit patients to instrumental follow-up after laparoscopic treatment of the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), it is not easy to have a complete patient’s analysis after fundoplication Telephone questionnaire can be a valid instrument to investigate clinical outcome and patient’s satisfaction to surgery.

METHODS: This study discusses the results acquired through a telephone questionnaire which has been administered to patients undergoing laparoscopic fundoplication to study postoperative clinical evolution of GERD and satisfaction to surgery through a numerical rating scale from 1 to 10.

RESULTS: Sixty three patients, who had a laparoscopic antireflux procedure at Department of General Surgery of the University of Udine (Italy), answered to telephone questionnaires. Fifty patients (74.9%) reported no symptoms. Patient’s satisfaction to surgery was 7.93 ± 2.36. Fifty eight patients (92.1%) would have repeated the operation and 59 (93.6%) would have advised it to a friend suffering of GERD. A significant difference of patient’s satisfaction between preoperative typical and atypical symptoms has been found (8.43 ± 2.04 vs. 6.95 ± 2.71 p<0.05).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Telephone questionnaire is comparable with face to face consultation, allowing to do a correct clinical follow-up, to exclude patients accusing pathological acid reflux after fundoplication; however preoperative symptoms are not so accurate as postoperative symptoms. Their presence giustifies a postoperative oesophageal pHmetry.