To investigate the effect of intraoperative esophageal bougie applied in laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication.

We collected 120 cases ofgastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in PLA Rocket Force Characteristic Medical Centerfrom March 2015 to October 2015 and divided them into two groups randomly, with 60 cases in bougie group and 60 cases in control group. The bougie group was dilated with a 56F esophageal bougie after the completion of the fundoplication, while the control group did not perform the dilatation. We conducted the follow-up of both groups at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. The same patient's postoperative data adopted a pair T test; the inter-component normal data employed the independent sample T test, and the non-normal data was compared by rank sum inspection. The count data was compared using χ² inspection.

117 cases were successfully followed up, with three missing cases. There were 58 case in bougie group and 59 in control group. The surgical procedure was successful for each patient, without serious complications and deaths during the procedure. There were no esophageal perforations in both groups. The amount of bleeding, operative time and postoperative hospital stay had nosignificant differences between two groups (P>0.05). At six months after fundoplication, the symptom score of the two groupswere significantly reduced (P<0.05). Thecorresponding symptomatic relief rateshad nosignificant difference between two groups (P>0.05). Postoperative dysphagia rates were lower in bougie group than those in the control groupat1week, 2weeks, 1 months, 2 months, 3 months, and 6 months (P<0.05); but postoperative dysphagia rate at 1year had no significant difference between twogroups. The median dysphagia scores were lower in bougie group than those of in the control group at 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 months, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of other complications between 2 groups (P>0.05).

The application of intraoperativeesophageal bougie during laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication significantly reduces the rates of postoperative dysphagia, and the differences of postoperative dysphagia rates between two groups diminish with time. The application of intraoperativeesophageal bougie during laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication can significantly reduce thedegree of postoperative dysphagia, and improve the comfort of patients. The application of intraoperativeesophageal bougie during laparoscopic Nissen fundoplicationhas no significant difference on the rates of other complications andclinical outcome, and has no esophagus perforation orrelated complications, and it is deserved promotion and application in clinic.