Endoscopic Fundoplication Is as Effective as Surgical Fundoplication after Hiatal Hernia Repair

Hodgens B, Godwin G, Rhodes M, et al. Comparison of Partial Endoscopic vs Surgical Fundoplication after Hiatal Hernia Repair. J Am Coll Surg. 2025; in press.

Hodgens and coauthors used a prospectively maintained hiatal hernia repair database (n = 255) from a single institution to compare quality of life (QOL) scores at 12 months of follow up for patients undergoing minimally invasive hiatal hernia repair plus endoscopic fundoplication (c-TIF) or surgical fundoplication.

Secondary outcomes of interest were proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use, complications, and rates of reoperation.

The data analysis showed that there was no difference in QOL at 12 months postoperative follow up for the two groups. Symptoms (heartburn, dysphagia, bloating) improved significantly, and up to 80% of patients were able to discontinue PPI during the follow up interval.

The authors concluded that c-TIF was as effective as surgical fundoplication; they recommended additional studies to provide long-term data regarding rates of dysphagia and bloating.