Surgical Treatment of Gastrooesophageal Reflux in Severely Mentally Retarded Children

Twenty severely mentally retarded children with significant gastrooesophageal reflux were submitted to surgical treatment. In all patients vomiting was present to a distressing degree. Seven had experienced haematemesis, and a lower oesophageal stricture was present in 5 children, 3 of whom required extensive surgery to overcome the obstruction. All had failed to respond to conservative measures. Although the postoperative complication rate was high (50%), the final result in the majority of patients was highly satisfactory.