Gastroparesis Procedure In St. Petersburg, FL

G-POEM helps people with documented delayed emptying whose main symptoms are nausea and vomiting, and whose symptoms haven’t responded to diet and medication. It isn’t right for everyone, and deciding honestly whether it will help you is part of the evaluation.

The cause of your gastroparesis matters. Published data show clinical success differs by the cause of gastroparesis: roughly 70% for post-surgical cases, 65% for diabetic, and 60% for idiopathic. People with severe weight loss or malnutrition often need nutrition support before any definitive procedure is safe to consider. A newer tool called EndoFLIP measures how stretchy the pylorus is, and it’s being studied to help predict who will respond; Dr. Grandhige uses EndoFLIP in his practice to tailor foregut procedures to each patient’s anatomy. Being clear about who won’t benefit is what protects you from a procedure that carries risk without a payoff. Many patients who come in expecting a procedure leave with a different plan, and they’re better for it.

Across published studies, G-POEM improves symptoms in about 70% of carefully selected patients at one year, with a technical success rate above 95%. It’s a treatment, not a cure, and the benefit can fade over time.

The most reliable figures come from pooled research. A systematic review of 952 patients found roughly 72% clinical success at one year, with benefit lasting into the two-to-three-year range for many patients and a portion relapsing after that. Technical success ran close to 99% in a separate analysis. The reported adverse-event rate is around 8%, and most events are minor. These are numbers from many centers combined, not a promise for any single person. Your result depends on how carefully the diagnosis and candidacy are worked up, which is the whole reason testing comes first.

Recovery is usually short. G-POEM is typically done as an outpatient procedure or a single overnight stay for observation. Expect some throat or chest soreness at first and a brief stretch on liquids, then soft foods, before working back to regular meals over days to weeks. Most people return to light activity quickly. Dr. Grandhige and his physician assistant stay reachable during recovery, including after hours, so a small question never turns into a bigger problem.

This is a subspecialty foregut practice, not a general surgery office that occasionally treats the stomach. Dr. Grandhige focuses only on the esophagus, diaphragm, and stomach, and he’s built the practice around confirming the diagnosis first and declining to operate when a procedure won’t help.

His background is verifiable. Gopal Grandhige, MD, FACS, is a board-certified general surgeon and a founding member of the American Foregut Society, as well as a member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). He trained at Johns Hopkins University, earned his medical degree at the University of Michigan, and completed his general surgery residency and fellowships in foregut and minimally invasive surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He has practiced in Tampa Bay since 2009. He’s the only board-certified surgeon in the area who performs fundoplication, LINX, and TIF with regularity, with more than 600 fundoplications, more than 600 LINX procedures, and more than 200 TIF procedures completed, a reflux volume that reflects how deep the foregut focus runs. The practice also treats hiatal hernia repair, silent reflux (LPR), and other benign conditions of the esophagus and stomach. You can read more about Dr. Grandhige’s training and background, and you can independently confirm his board certification through the American Board of Surgery and his license through the Florida Department of Health.