S148: Long-term patient-reported outcomes of laparoscopic magnetic sphincter augmentation versus Nissen fundoplication: a 5-year follow-up study

Laparoscopic magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA) has emerged as an alternative to laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication (LNF) for the management of symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). While short-term outcomes of MSA compare favorably to those of LNF, direct comparisons of long-term outcomes are lacking. We hypothesized that the long-term patient-reported outcomes of MSA would be similar to those achieved with LNF.

We tested this hypothesis in a retrospective cohort undergoing primary LNF or MSA between March 2013 and July 2015. The primary outcome was GERD-Health Related Quality of Life (GERD-HRQL) score at long-term follow-up relative to baseline. Secondary outcomes included dysphagia and bloating scores, proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) cessation, reoperations, and overall satisfaction with surgery.

70 patients (25 MSA, 45 LNF) met criteria for study inclusion. MSA patients had lower baseline BMI (median: 27.1 [IQR: 22.7–29.9] versus 30.4 [26.4–32.8], p = 0.02), lower total GERD-HRQL (26 [19–32] versus 34 [25–40], p = 0.02), and dysphagia (2 [0–3] versus 3 [1–4], p = 0.02) scores. Median follow-up interval exceeded 5 years (MSA: 68 [65–74]; LNF: 65 months [62–69]). Total GERD-HRQL improved from 26 to 9 after MSA (p < 0.001) and from 34 to 7.5 after LNF (p < 0.01); these scores did not differ between groups (p = 0.68). Dysphagia (MSA: 1 [0–2]; LNF: 0 [0–2], p = 0.96) and bloating (MSA: 1.5 [0.5–3.0]; LNF: 3.0 [1.0–4.0], p = 0.08) scores did not show any statistically significant differences. Device removal was performed in 4 (16%) MSA patients and reoperation in 3 (7%) LNF patients. Eighty-nine percent of LNF patients reported satisfaction with the procedure, compared to 70% of MSA patients (p = 0.09).

MSA appears to offer similar long-term improvement in disease-specific quality of life as LNF. For MSA, there was a trend toward reduced long-term bloating compared to LNF, but need for reoperation and device removal may be associated with patient dissatisfaction.