Patients with Barrett's Esophagus Have New Minimally Invasive Option for Reducing Risk of Cancer
Fernandina Beach Man Is Cured of Condition with Two Simple Treatments

Jacksonville, Florida, January 6, 2009 -- Like 15 million other Americans, Michael Castner, 64, suffers from daily, painful heartburn. A retired investment banker from Miami who now lives in Fernandina Beach, he has suffered from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) for many years and takes medication to control his symptoms, which have kept him up at night.

When he moved to Fernandina Beach, his primary care physician recommended that he visit gastroenterologist John M. Petersen, DO, not only for his GERD, but also to have a colonoscopy. "When I was 50, I had a colonoscopy and they found 19 polyps," said Castner. "I got colonoscopies every three years after that, and there was no recurrence of the polyps, but it was time to get one again when I moved to Fernandina."

Dr. Petersen performed a colonoscopy and an endoscopy on Castner. "He discovered that I had Barrett's esophagus," says Castner. "I hadn't had an endoscopy in years. Dr. Petersen did biopsies of the Barrett's tissue and found it was noncancerous, but he said it was important to remove the tissue anyway since it could lead to esophageal cancer in the future."

Barrett's esophagus is a pre-malignant condition in which cells lining the esophagus are damaged due to repeated exposure to stomach acid as a result of GERD. The incidence of Barrett's in those with GERD is small, but once diagnosed, an individual is at a greater risk of developing esophageal cancer. The risk goes up one percent each year that Barrett's remains undiagnosed and untreated.

In the recent past, there was no treatment for Barrett's that actually obliterated the tissue. Treatment with medication and surgery were aimed at preventing further damage from occurring by stopping acid reflux into the esophagus from the stomach.

A new, more effective and safer technique that actually removes the Barrett's tissue and significantly reduces an individual's risk for esophageal cancer is being offered at Baptist Medical Center, one of only a few centers in Florida to use this technology. HALO90 and HALO360 procedures are performed by a gastroenterologist on an outpatient basis with routine conscious sedation (the same used in endoscopy and colonoscopy); they take 20-30 minutes to complete.

Because of the length of the segment in Michael Castner's esophagus with Barrett's, he received two treatments with the HALO360 procedure at Baptist. HALO360 therapy involves introducing a catheter and endoscope into the esophagus. A balloon is inflated near the treatment area, and the balloon and HALO Energy Generator together measure the diameter of the esophagus. The sizing balloon is then removed and the HALO360 Ablation Catheter, which also has a special balloon covered by a band of radiofrequency electrodes, is introduced. The HALO360 Energy Generator and the ablation catheter then work together to deliver a short burst of energy to the treatment area to destroy abnormal tissue with very little effect on nearby normal tissue.

"Patients like it because their recovery is short and discomfort is mild and can be managed medically, and they can go back to work or their regular activities the next day," says Dr. Petersen.

Castner says he has peace of mind knowing that he will not have to face esophageal cancer in his future. "I would recommend having this procedure to anyone with Barrett's esophagus," he says.

"Before HALO, we would have to do an endoscopy every two years on patients with Barrett's esophagus for the rest of their lives," says Dr. Petersen. "That's a lot of time and money, and living in fear of developing esophageal cancer. With this new cutting-edge HALO technology, we are removing the malignant potential, even as small as it is. For the first time, we are ablating the tissue and the potential risk of esophageal cancer using a minimally invasive procedure. It's very exciting to have this novel endoscopic technique for our patients!"

Dr Petersen adds, "The Center for Endoscopy at Baptist Medical Center continues to be on the cutting edge of endoscopic technology so North Florida patients can stay close to home for even the most complex procedures for treating all GI, liver, and pancreatic conditions."