Sunil Amin, M.D., is a gastroenterologist at the University of Miami Health System. For more information about the G-POEM procedure, click here or visit the UHealth blog.
MEET LORRAINE LUCCA:
Since she was a little girl, Lorraine Lucca couldn’t eat without feeling sick.
“You get pains and discomfort and a lot of nausea,” says Lorraine.
Lorraine was diagnosed with gastroparesis, a condition where the stomach does not empty properly, says UHealth gastroenterologist Sunil Amin, M.D.
“As a result, food gets retained in the stomach and patients develop symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, early satiety, which means you get full after just a few bites of food, bloating,” Dr. Amin says.
Dr. Amin performed a highly specialized procedure on Lorraine called G-POEM. This helped to relieve her debilitating symptoms giving her back quality of life.
“G-POEM stands for gastric peroral endoscopic myotomy, and it’s a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure we do through the mouth with the goal of cutting the muscle at the end of the stomach called the pylorus. We think in patients with gastroparesis, that muscle is too tight, it doesn’t relax properly. This allows food to pass more easily into the small intestine from the stomach,” explains Dr. Amin.
Lorraine had the procedure in April and noticed a pretty dramatic change.
“I got a veggie wrap. It’s this big, I ate the whole thing, and I didn’t feel sick,” Lorraine says.
“We have long-term data showing that patients that have had the G-POEM procedure do have a durable response over the long term,” says Dr. Amin.
“Overall, my energy levels are better,” says Lorraine.
“We take every patient with gastroparesis, and we have them meet with myself, an advanced endoscopist, as well as a motility specialist in gastroenterology, and sometimes we even involve the surgeon so we can really put our heads together and come up with the best treatment approach that’s personalized for each patient,” Dr. Amin says.
Lorraine credits Dr. Amin and the G-POEM procedure for eating without worry. Her advice?
“No matter what your symptoms are, if it’s affecting you, just check it out. It might help you,” Lorraine says.
FOCUSING ON YOU
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