Last year, surgeons used a pacemaker to help a 16-year old gastroparesis patient live with the debilitating stomach condition. Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach contracts less often and less powerfully, causing food and liquids to stay in the stomach for a long time. Symptoms include vomiting, nausea, bloating, feeling of fullness, heartburn, reflux, changes in blood sugar levels, and lack of appetite. These symptoms leave children malnourished and underweight. In severe cases, it affects the ability to live a normal life and attend school or play sports.
In such a surgery, the pacemaker is inserted into the abdomen with the wires leading to the stomach rather than the heart. Electrical impulses stimulate the stomach after eating and tell it to empty, elevating the bloating and nausea. Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio is one of only a few hospitals to perform the surgery, usually reserved for adults with heart problems, on children. For children who have received this type of surgery, almost all symptoms were eliminated in a matter of weeks, making it a much more successful treatment option than traditional medications.
While pacemakers have been used for years on adults with delayed gastric emptying, this breakthrough could help children suffering from gastroparesis live normal lives. Recently, Nationwide Children’s Hospital received approval to implant pacemakers in children as a humanitarian device exemption, allowing it to be marketed without having to prove effectiveness. This means, the promising treatment can help more children sooner.