Implantation of a pressure cuff around the subphrenic oesophagus

The possibility of implanting a pressure cuff around the subphrenic oesophagus as a barrier to reflux was tested in six pigs. The oesophagus tolerated cuff pressures from 48 to 95 cmH2O, corresponding to intra-oesophageal pressures from 27 to 75 cmH2O. The pigs with the perioesophageal cuff swallowed a solid diet without difficulty. However, dysphagia occurred in pigs kept alive for more than a month and the main reason was malfunction of the device because of surrounding fibrosis. This problem should be solved before implantation of the device in humans is attempted.