Three Dog Night Drummer Finds His Rhythm Again

By  //  September 17, 2019

TREATED BY HEALTH FIRST'S Dr. Kenneth Tieu

At the height of his acid reflux, Pat would find himself waking up choking and hacking at night, despite sleeping at a 45-degree angle to alleviate symptoms.

LINX Procedure Fixes Musician’s Chronic Acid Reflux   

At the height of his acid reflux, Pat would find himself waking up choking and hacking at night, despite sleeping at a 45-degree angle to alleviate symptoms.

Not to mention the horrible heartburn that plagued him daily while traveling as a drummer for the band Three Dog Night.

But after finding himself in Health First’s Viera Hospital for emergency gallbladder surgery, a conversation with surgeon Dr. Kenneth Tieu made Pat realize maybe he didn’t have to live in such misery anymore.

“He said he could fix that easy,” Pat said, adding that his Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) likely affected his singing.

“I was not feeling rested, and I am sure it affected my voice.”

After undergoing surgery for the LINX Reflux Management System, Pat’s GERD cleared up immediately.

Dr. Kenneth Tieu

The bracelet-shaped system of flexible, magnetic titanium beads, placed around the esophagus, restores the body’s barrier to acid and bile reflux.

The magnetic attraction of the titanium beads allows the esophagus to open and close to let food in or out, should it need to.

“I mean, when you have acid reflux, you just learn to live with it, and you don’t know how bad it was until it’s gone,” Pat said.

“The symptoms were completely gone after the surgery.”

The procedure, done laparoscopically under general anesthesia, is used for treating acid reflux when medication no longer provides relief or if patients are seeking an alternative to using acid-suppression medications long-term, which can come with risks.

“It hasn’t slowed me down one bit,” Pat said of the surgery.

“And with all the terrible choices for food on the run, I used to get a bad bout of heartburn and acid reflux. That’s all in the past. I have zero symptoms now and feel better than ever.”

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