Woman to have innovative new surgery to treat gastroparesis
March 10th, 2010 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
If 27-year-old Mary Carter had her wish, she would be a food critic. But instead of enjoying lavish meals in fine restaurants, she gets her nutrition through a feeding tube. Mary remembers when her life changed so dramatically. It was August 1, 2006, and she was driving in her car. She began to feel nauseous, her heart raced, and her vision became blurry. From that moment on, everything she put in her mouth she would vomit up.
Mary suffers from gastroparesis, a condition in which the stomach takes too long to empty its contents. It is a debilitating condition that can strike anyone, but people with diabetes are more susceptible. As many as 50 percent of people with type 2 diabetes and 20 percent with type 1 diabetes have the gastrointestinal disorder.
Treatment for gastroparesis can be discouraging. Some people can manage the condition by limiting their diet. Others must rely on medications, such as Reglan (metoclopramide), which can have serious side effects such as a involuntary movement disorder known as Tardive Dyskinesia.
With little hope left, Mary chose another option – to have an innovative new surgery available at Texas Tech University’s Paul Foster School of Medicine. As part of the surgery, doctors will implant a device called the Enterra into Mary’s abdomen. “It’s a very powerful anti-nausea, anti-vomiting tool,” gastroneurologist Richard McCallum, founding chair at the Paul Foster School of Medicine, told KTSM-TV.
Mary’s surgery will be third of its kind performed at the El Paso medical center. “Even if my symptoms got 50 percent better, it would be a huge change in my day,” Mary said.