Gastroparesis Care
Understanding Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis is a digestive condition that slows—or even stops—how your stomach moves food into the small intestine. Instead of emptying normally, food lingers in the stomach longer than it should. This can cause uncomfortable and disruptive symptoms such as:
- Feeling full after just a few bites (early satiety)
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal bloating or pain
- Ongoing indigestion and poor appetite
How Gastroparesis Is Diagnosed
Because the symptoms often overlap with other digestive problems, diagnosis involves a thorough evaluation. This may include:
- Upper Endoscopy: A procedure to look for blockages that prevent food from leaving the stomach.
- Gastric Emptying Test (GET): The gold standard for diagnosing gastroparesis. You’ll eat a small meal tagged with a safe substance that shows up on a scan, allowing your provider to track how quickly food leaves your stomach.
Treatment Options
Treatment is based on your symptoms and individual needs. Our team offers a range of non-surgical and advanced treatment options to help improve stomach function and reduce discomfort.
Treatment options may include:
- Dietary and lifestyle changes
- Medications to help stimulate stomach emptying or reduce nausea
- Endoscopic procedures, including G-POEM
- Surgical procedures, including pyloroplasty
- Enterra® gastric electrical stimulation therapy
Advanced Treatment: Enterra Therapy
While medications and dietary adjustments can help some patients, they don’t always provide lasting relief. Enterra® Therapy is the first and only FDA-approved implantable device designed specifically to treat chronic nausea and vomiting caused by gastroparesis. Enterra® Therapy is unique because it’s customizable to each patient, minimally invasive to implant, and fully reversible if needed.
How It Works
- The device is implanted just under the skin in a minimally invasive surgical procedure.
- Small electrical pulses called Gastric Electrical Stimulation (GES) are delivered directly to the stomach muscles.
- These gentle pulses help regulate stomach function, reducing nausea and vomiting so food can move through the digestive system more normally.