This is magnetic sphincter augmentation, or the LINX device, a band of metal magnetic beads about the size of a quarter, multiple sizes available based on the diameter of the esophagus that's measured during the procedure, placed around the lower esophageal sphincter to buttress it, and the magnetic beads are on an elastic band so that when the swallowing occurs, and I'll show you a cartoon of this now, what we get is a relaxation of the band, there's a stretching of the band to allow the bolus of the food to go through. So here you can see, here's the lower esophageal sphincter and the diaphragm, any hiatal hernia is reduced, the magnetic band is placed, the magnetic beads are placed there, and you can see that it provides a buttressed lower esophageal sphincter to prevent reflux, but the ability of the band to stretch when that bolus comes through, as you see there in the cartoon, really allows a more physiologic approach to managing reflux than suturing something in place with a fundoplication, a nissen, or a toupee.

magnetic sphincter augmentation

LINX device

reflux treatment

lower esophageal sphincter

reducing reflux symptoms