The Heartburn Hotline
Stop the medications, find a lasting with our latest technology 
Chronic heartburn usually isn't caused by spicy food. It could be a physical malfunction.
What's worse is that a lifetime of stomach acid flowing up into the esphagus can eat away at the esphoagus walls and create a more fertile pasture for cancer.
St. Joseph's/Candler has two new technologies to treat these problems along with more traditional proceedures. Now we can save patients from major surgery and even the removal of the esophagus.
The best way to diagnose what is happening with you is to consult a physician. Call the St. Joseph's/Candler Heartburn Hotline at 912-819-BURN (2876).
What is heartburn really?
Heartburn occurs when the scphinter muscle between the stomach and esophagus doesn't close tightly enough and allows stomach contents to back up.
Frequent, ongoing heartburn is called gastroesophageal reflux disease. Symptoms include belching, coughing or wheezing, difficulty swallowing, hoarseness, sore throat and vomiting blood.
Typically, doctors treat this with diet and lifestyle changes. But sometimes that's not enough. That's when surgery is called for.
Our technology
When the valve that stop stomach acid from splashing up the esophagus fails, many people have to endure a years of over the counter medications to contrl the symptoms. EsophyX is an incisionless proceedure that reconstructs a valve to block the acid.
St. Joseph's/Candler is the only place in the region where you can find this technology.
GERD isn't always benign. Occasionally it can lead to a condition called Barrett's esophagus, which can cause cancer.
The HALO Ablation Catheter is used in conjunction with an endoscopy. There are two versions of these catheters. A doctor chooses which one to use based on the size and circumference of the segment of Barrett's esophagus. Once inside the esophagus, the catheters ablate, or heat, the diseased tissue until it is no longer alive.
