Meet the editor

Ali Ibrahim Yahya is the Director of General Surgical Specialty at the Libyan Postgraduate Board. He is also an examiner for Libyan medical schools and the Libyan Postgraduate Board. He received his Diploma in Laparoscopic Surgery in Strasbourg. He was the Dean of Zliten Medical School from 2013 to 2018 and tutor of the High Surgical Skill Course at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. He is an editor and reviewer of national and interna-

tional surgical journals and has presented 45 scientific papers in congresses locally and internationally. He has also published 15 scientific surgical papers in international surgical journals, four chapters in books and short notes in books on pancreatitis.

**Preface III**

**Chapter 1 1**

**Chapter 2 13**

**Chapter 3 29**

**Chapter 4 37**

**Chapter 5 57**

The Role of Increased Gastric Acid Secretion and Reactive Oxygen Species

Introductory Chapter: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) Symptoms

Clinical Picture of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Children

Challenges to Unravel Mechanisms of GERD

*by Paolo Quitadamo and Annamaria Staiano*

in the Pathophysiology of Reflux Esophagitis *by Mohamed-Amine Jabri and Hichem Sebai*

*by Ali I. Yahya*

Contents

*by Shouji Shimoyama*

*by Xia Chen and Fei Wang*

## Contents


Preface

Writing this book on gastroesophageal reflux disease is the result of a long journey of work. When I left the UK 27 years ago and after I received a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, I did my surgical training and joined the surgery department at Zliten University Hospital as young surgeon. At that time there were no surgeons performing endoscopy at the hospital and because I was encountering patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding I had to perform elective and emergency upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. During this time in surgical endoscopy I faced many patients who came for diagnosis with symptoms typical of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Some of these patients were treated with medicine and others with surgery where reflux only, or reflux with hiatus hernia was diagnosed. From that day to this the idea of publishing a book on gastroesophageal reflux disease was born, and has now come to reality. Since gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common benign clinical problem in most countries and most practicing doctors will face patients who will need diagnosis and treatment. This book will be useful for resident upper gastrointestinal tract surgeons and gastroenterologists, as well as general practitioners. The book discusses the increase in gastric acid secretion and reactive oxygen species in the pathophysiology of reflux esophagitis, as well as the treatment and diagnosis of refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease. Gastroesophageal reflux disease can be seen in any age group and in the book there is a chapter that discusses the presentation, diagnosis and treatment of the disease in children. Finally, I would like to thank all authors for their contributions and for distributing their valuable knowledge to readers all over the world. Great thanks must go to Dolores Kuzelj who shared our long journey and put all her efforts into making this book a reality. My thanks also go to the IntechOpen publisher staff.

**Ali Ibrahim Yahya**

Zliten, Libya

Alsumaria University,

Director of Zliten University Hospital,
