Laparoscopic re-operation from gastro-oesophageal reflux.

Since 1994 until the present day, we have had to surgically re-operate in five cases of failure with laparoscopic operations aimed at correcting gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. Two of these cases came from our own patients and three came under our observation from other centers. We applied fundoplication according to Nissen-Rossetti in three cases and the Rossetti-Hell operation in the other cases. One case involved recurrent gastro-oesophageal reflux with a short oesophagus and fundoplication raised into the mediastinum. In one other case, there was recurrent hiatal herniation with a rotary as well as axial component and consequent mediastinal occupation. The other three cases featured persistent post-operative dysphagia caused, in one case, by an error in the creation of the anti-reflux valve (perigastric cuff) and, in the other two, by erroneous choice of the anti-reflux operation: post-operative manometry showed important oesophageal hypo-dyskinesia which should have indicated partial fundoplication. All the patients underwent laparoscopic exploration. The patient with the short oesophagus had to be converted for the performance of a total duodenal diversion, while the remaining four patients underwent a total laparoscopic operation. The patient with recurrent hiatal hernia had the hernia reduced in the abdomen and combined anterior and posterior hiatoplasty. In another three cases, total fundoplication was transformed into partial fundoplication according to Toupet. The post-operative course and clinical results were excellent in all five patients. Stress is placed on the importance of accurate morphological and functional assessment of the oesophagus in the pre-operative stage so as to select the most suitable operation and in the post-operative stage in order to evaluate the causes of failure, the advantages of laparoscopy in terms of exposure of the operative field, the importance of certain technical details that optimize the results of the operation, and the efficacy of the laparoscopic approach also for the correction of most failures that demand re-operation.