ENTERRA THERAPY FOR GASTROPARESIS
A Neurostimulator Designed to Relieve the Nausea and Vomiting Symptoms of Gastroparesis*
What is Gastroparesis?
Gastroparesis is a medical condition that causes food to digest more slowly than normal. In a healthy digestive system, strong muscular contractions move food through the stomach through the digestive tract. But with gastroparesis, the stomach muscles work poorly or not at all – preventing the stomach from emptying properly.
Gastroparesis has several causes, including type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, postsurgical complications and other causes, but in many cases, the cause is unknown.
Over time, the chronic nausea, vomiting and discomfort caused by gastroparesis can lead to low blood sugar, malnutrition, and more.
How does Gastroparesis affect people?
The exhaustion, isolation, and frustration of gastroparesis patients is real and costly: gastroparesis patients experience higher rates of unemployment, underemployment, and reduced daily activities. The chronic nausea and vomiting symptoms of gastroparesis also negatively correlate with patients’ physical and mental health quality of life scores.
In a recent survey of 1,423 gastroparesis patients, only 4% said they were satisfied with available treatment options.
Treating Gastroparesis
Diet modification, medications, and enteral nutrition are common ways to treat gastroparesis. Diet changes may include increasing liquid intake, restricting fats and plant fiber, and eating smaller, more frequent meals to maintain adequate nutrition and minimize symptoms. Prescribed medications often consist of prokinetic drugs to improve the rate of stomach emptying, and antiemetic drugs to control nausea and vomiting. Lastly, for temporary or more severe symptoms, liquid nutrition is delivered directly to the stomach through a feeding tube in the form of enteral nutrition.
However, despite these first-line therapies, the chronic nausea and vomiting symptoms of gastroparesis often still persist. If you have gastroparesis from diabetic or idiopathic (unknown) origins and you’ve already tried diet changes and medications without success, gastric electrical stimulation with Enterra Therapy may be an option for you.
A New Approach to Treating Gastroparesis
The Enterra System is the first and only device designed specifically to relieve the nausea and vomiting symptoms associated with gastroparesis from diabetes or unknown origins by gently stimulating your stomach – a unique kind of therapy called gastric electrical stimulation (GES).
Unlike other surgical treatment options, Enterra Therapy is implantable, customizable, and reversible.
How Enterra Therapy Works
The Enterra System is made up of three parts:
- A small neurostimulator that’s implanted under the skin
- Two wires, called “leads”, that connect the neurostimulator to the stomach muscles
- A handheld, external programming device
Once it’s implanted, the neurostimulator sends mild electrical pulses through the leads to gently stimulate the smooth muscles of the lower stomach. These pulses are designed to relieve the chronic nausea and vomiting associated with gastroparesis.
Using the programming device, your doctor will adjust the neurostimulator to help ensure you receive the level of stimulation that’s right for you. Adjusting your Enterra system’s level of stimulation is non-invasive and does not require surgery.
After the Procedure
After you receive your Enterra System, your doctor will use the external clinician programmer to customize the level of stimulation that’s right for you. Programming is non-invasive and can be done in your doctor’s office or the hospital. If you have another implanted device, your doctor will follow special programming considerations.
Is Enterra Therapy right for you?
Enterra Therapy is intended to reduce symptoms of chronic, drug-resistant nausea and vomiting associated with gastroparesis caused by diabetes or unknown causes in patients aged 18 to 70 years. But like any medical procedure, Enterra Therapy comes with risks, so it isn’t for everyone.
Important Safety Information
Enterra Therapy for chronic, resistant to medication nausea and vomiting associated with gastroparesis caused by diabetes or an unknown origin in patients aged 18 to 70 years: patients should always discuss potential risks and benefits of the device with their physician.
See full important safety information: https://www.enterramedical.com/important-safety-information/
*Humanitarian Device
Authorized by federal law for use in the treatment of chronic intractable (drug refractory) nausea and vomiting secondary to gastroparesis of diabetic or idiopathic etiology in patients aged 18 to 70 years. The effectiveness of this device for this use has not been demonstrated.
Enterra Physician
PREMIER SURGICAL AT FORT SANDERS REGIONAL
FORT SANDERS REGIONAL
1819 Clinch Avenue, Suite 200
Knoxville, TN 37916
865.524.3695
Michael Antiporda, MD, FACS
General Surgery
Fellowship: Advanced GI & Minimally Invasive Surgery