NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Following laparoscopic antireflux surgery, more than a third of patients will develop new bowel symptoms, Florida-based researchers report.

Dr. Sami R. Achem, and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, sent a bowel function survey to the 109 patients who underwent laparoscopic antireflux surgery at their center in 1998. Eight-four patients responded to the survey.

Thirty-six (43%) patients reported no bowel dysfunction before or after surgery, the investigators report in the January issue of the American Journal of Medicine. Twenty-nine (35%) patients reported having bowel symptoms prior to surgery.

Postoperatively, 30 (36%) patients reported new bowel symptoms, the most common of which were bloating and diarrhea, the authors note.

Two thirds of the patients who developed diarrhea did so within 6 weeks of surgery. The diarrhea ranged in severity from mild to severe and, in four patients, the diarrhea led to fecal incontinence. In 13 of the 15 patients with diarrhea, the condition persisted for at least 2 years after surgery.

"Awareness of the clinical course and development of [bowel dysfunction] in the postoperative period may decrease anxiety and concern in patients and physicians," the researchers state. "Future studies are needed to identify the mechanisms responsible for these symptoms," they add.

Am J Med 2003;114:6-9.

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