The outcomes of magnetic sphincter augmentation in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease post bariatric surgery: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Although bariatric surgeries are widely performed around the world, patients frequently experience the recurrence of pre-existing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms or develop new symptoms, some of which are resistant to medical treatment. This study investigates the effect and outcome of magnetic sphincter augmentation (MSA), a minimally invasive treatment for GERD, in this population. Methods: A thorough search of the PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases from inception until June 6, 2024 was performed to retrieve relevant studies that evaluated the effects of MSA on the GERD health-related quality of life (GERD-HRQL) score and the reduction in proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use in patients who underwent bariatric surgery. The "meta" package in RStudio version 2023.12.0 + 369 was used. Results: A total of eight studies were included in the systematic review and seven studies were included in the meta-analysis. MSA significantly reduced the GERD-HRQL score (MD =-27.55 [95% CI:-30.99 to-24.111, p < 0.01) and PPI use (RR = 0.23 [95% CI: 0.16 to 0.331, p < 0.01). Conclusion: MSA is a viable treatment option for patients with GERD symptoms who undergo bariatric surgery. This approach showed promising results in terms of reducing the GERD-HRQL score and reducing the use of PPI. (c) 2025 Zhejiang University. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/4.0/).