Abrie
Botha
International Oesophago-Gastric Symposium (IOGS)
An annual one day symposium founded by Abrie Botha in 1999, where delegates have the opportunity to 'meet the experts' and discuss state of the art operations and technology.
The proceeds of the symposium help to support education and research in oesophageal and gastric surgery.
The 16th symposium is on the 9th March 2018 in London.
Achalasia
Mr Botha has a longstanding interest and extensive experience in achalasia. His research has shown that a shorter myotomy could achieve similarly good outcomes to the traditional longer myotomy.
He currently performs Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) and is conducting comparative research between POEM and Laparoscopic Hellers Myotomy.
Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease
Surgeons learn to do different types of anti-reflux operations. In an attempt to achieve reliable results and avoid some of the potential side effects of this kind of surgery, Mr Botha has performed research with Endoflip catheters that can measure intra-operative changes in the compliance of the oesophago-gastric junction. The results suggest that it may be feasible to tailor the operation according to individual intra-operative measurements.
Minimal Invasive Cancer Surgery
Minimal invasive surgery for oesophago-gastric cancer has been shown to have some benefits over open surgery. Mr Botha's research has indicated that there is a learning curve when surgeons convert from open to minimal invasive surgery, that can increase complications.
Hernias
Having contributed to the MRC funded trial comparing open versus laparoscopic groin hernia repairs Mr Botha currently performs both laparoscopic hernia repairs and open repairs under local anaesthetic.
Patients with abdominal deformities caused by herniation are treated by abdominal wall reconstruction incorporating biological and synthetic mesh.