Stomach
“Stress hits the stomach” is not just a phrase. In many people, the stomach reacts to mental and physical stress with increased production of stomach acid, which can damage the actually robust stomach lining.
The stomach is used to store chewed food before it is passed on to the duodenum. The food is turned into chyme in the stomach and thus prepared for digestion and absorption in the small intestine. This process takes about 3 hours on average. The stomach enables us to cover our nutritional requirements with a few large meals. In addition to stomach acid, the stomach produces various digestive enzymes and hormones.
Which diseases of the stomach are common?
Stomach inflammation
Hyperacidity of the stomach can also cause problems in the stomach. Chronic use of painkillers (NSAIDS such as Voltaren, Toradol or Aspirin) can lead to gastritis. In severe cases, gastritis can lead to a stomach ulcer with even a rupture of the stomach. Severe bleeding can also be triggered. This can lead to vomiting blood or black tarry stools.
In addition to painkillers, stress, smoking, alcohol or very rarely tumors of the stomach or pancreas can cause gastritis.
The diagnosis is made by gastroscopy. Treatment involves medication that blocks stomach acid (proton pump inhibitors). If the stomach is colonized by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, antibiotic therapy (eradication therapy) should be carried out to prevent chronic inflammation.
Tumors of the stomach
Benign tumors
Ulcers do not have to be malignant. They can be caused by medication, stress or alcohol and usually heal under treatment with acid blockers. Polyps (small, stalk-like growths) can be benign and are often the result of many years of taking acid blockers.
Benign lipomas or leiomyomas are rarely found in the stomach wall. These can usually be removed laparoscopically.
Malignant tumors
Stomach cancer is often recognized late because the symptoms are usually unspecific. There may be weight loss, loss of appetite or aversion to certain foods. Vomiting or severe abdominal pain only occur very late.
The diagnosis is made by means of gastroscopy, and a CT scan of the abdomen and thorax is then also required for further treatment planning. The treatment of stomach cancer is always interdisciplinary and involves oncologists, radiologists, radiotherapists, pathologists and surgeons.
What does a stomach operation look like?
Benign tumors can usually be removed laparoscopically. In the case of small tumors or malignant tumors in very early stages, endoscopic removal using gastroscopy is sometimes possible. In the case of advanced tumors, however, most of the stomach or even the entire stomach, including the associated blood vessels and lymph vessels, must usually be removed. Here too, the operation can often be performed laparoscopically using laparoscopy. The esophagus or the stomach remnant is then connected directly to the small intestine. After a major stomach operation, several smaller meals a day must be taken to prevent excessive weight loss.
What are the symptoms of stomach diseases?
Many symptoms are non-specific and range from loss of appetite and a feeling of fullness to pain in the upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting. Black stools can also be an indication of an illness in the stomach.
At Swiss1Chirurgie, we specialize in diseases of the stomach. Together with our partners in gastroenterology, we can offer state-of-the-art treatment for all diseases of this organ in accordance with the latest scientific findings.