Gastric Alimetry in patients with para-oesophageal hernias

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A prospective pilot cohort study to investigate the utility and feasibility of using body surface gastric mapping (Gastric Alimetry) to assess gastric motility and function in patients who have undergone elective para-oesophageal hernia repair.

• IRAS ID

  352689

• Contact name

  Richard Owen

• Contact email

  richard.owen@ouh.nhs.uk

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Para-oesophageal hernias are defined as herniation of the stomach and/or intra-abdominal organs into the intra-thoracic space. Giant para-oesophageal hernias are defined as herniation of ≥ 50% of the stomach. There is a growing incidence of para-oesophageal hernias, mostly due to a rising aging population. Patients with para-oesophageal hernias experience a spectrum of symptom severity, from mild heartburn to persistent difficulty swallowing, retching and fullness. The nature of these symptoms often has a substantial impact on a patient’s quality of life.
  
  Keyhole repair by closing the defect within the diaphragm and wrapping the stomach around itself, (fundoplication), is widely accepted as the standard of treatment for para-oesophageal hernias. However, it is thought that following this almost 2 in 10 continue to experience symptoms of nausea and vomiting, postprandial bloating and epigastric pain. Little is known regarding the exact mechanisms which contribute to the above symptoms however one recognised contributor is delayed gastric emptying, possibly due to distortion of the typical gastric anatomy following surgery.

  There lacks a consensus on investigative modalities for measuring the movement of the stomach during digestion (gastric motility) and the speed at which it empties food contents into the small bowel (gastric emptying). In recent years, body surface gastric mapping (BSGM) offers a non-invasive novel diagnostic modality for measuring gastric motility using high resolution electrodes placed over the skin overlying the stomach.

  This pilot study will investigate the utility and feasibility of using BSGM to assess gastric motility in the context of patients who have had a para-oesophageal hernia repair, to measure the impact of this operation on gastric motility and function.
  

• REC name

  East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/EM/0182

• Date of REC Opinion

  10 Sep 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion