The holiday season is a time when many of us overindulge on rich foods and end up with a bad case of heartburn. Occasional bouts of heartburn are nothing to worry about.

But if you get heartburn frequently, you're at risk of developing Barrett’s esophagus, which in rare cases can lead to esophageal cancer. Doctors at Mayo Clinic have a new treatment for Barrett’s that could reduce the cancer risks.

In this procedure room doctors are using an endoscope to examine the esophagus, or swallowing tube for abnormalities such as Barrett’s esophagus. Barrett's happens when chronic acid reflux causes changes to the cells that line your esophagus. Normal cells look like pink shiny tile. Barrett's cells look like a red shag carpet.

"The real importance of Barrett’s is that it is a risk factor for developing esophageal cancer."

Dr. David Fleischer says one out of ten people who have Barrett’s will develop cancer, even if they take medications to stop the acid reflux. Surgery to remove Barrett’s is one treatment option. But that's a major operation which requires several days in the hospital. Now Dr. Fleischer and his team have studied a much less invasive procedure that can get rid of Barrett’s without surgery.

"We found we could get rid of it in 98% of patient."

The technology uses radio frequency energy to burn away the Barrett’s cells. Dr. Fleischer passes a scope along side an inflatable balloon with heat coils around the surface, to the site of the Barrett’s. Once there he inflates the balloon which cauterizes the affected area, destroying the Barrett’s and reducing your risk that it will develop into cancer. After the procedure most patients will continue to take medication to control acid reflux and prevent further problems.


In addition to treating Barrett’s Dr. Fleischer says this procedure may also be used to treat very early stages of cancer.