Quality of life and patient satisfaction after laparoscopic antireflux surgery using the QOLARS questionnaire

Currently, evaluation of patient satisfaction and quality-of-life data to estimate the outcome of laparoscopic antireflux surgery is an important issue. This study aimed first to report the midterm results for the surgical management of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) by laparoscopic fundoplication and to evaluate surgical outcome, including quality of life and patient satisfaction. The second aim was to determine whether preoperative quality-of-life measurement can predict which patients will be satisfied with antireflux surgery.

The current prospective study evaluated the outcome of the quality-of-life data for 41 patients (13 men and 28 women) who underwent laparoscopic fundoplication in the author's department of surgery between 1 January 2002 and 31 May 2003. The mean age of the patients was 41 years. Quality of life was measured by using a new quality-of-life instrument (QOLARS) developed and validated by the author's study group. The patients completed the QOLARS questionnaire before surgery, then 6 weeks, 1 year, and 3 years after surgery.

Before surgery, all the patients had a poor quality of life. The general quality-of-life and heartburn scores improved significantly within 6 weeks after surgery and showed further improvement by the end of the first postoperative year, then remained stable 3 years after surgery. The patients who became completely free of reflux-related symptoms were divided into two groups according to their satisfaction with the operative result. The patients dissatisfied with surgery had significantly worse median preoperative scores in four domains (physical functioning, emotional functioning, sleep disturbance, constipation) than the patients satisfied with the procedure.

The findings show that QOLARS is a sensitive tool for assessing surgical outcome after laparoscopic antireflux surgery. The quality-of-life response closely follows the clinical outcome of surgical treatment, reflecting its side effects as well. This study suggests that a generic quality-of-life scale can preoperatively identify patients with GERD who are likely to be dissatisfied with antireflux surgery.