A gastric pacemaker is a recently developed medical device that is designed to help patients who experience severe gastroparesis, a chronic and uncomfortable digestive condition in which the normal flow of food and liquids from the stomach into the intestines is disrupted. Patients with this condition often have trouble keeping food down and may regularly experience nausea, dehydration, weight loss and other ill-effects. Just as a cardiac pacemaker stimulates the normal beating of the heart, the gastric pacemaker employs small electrical impulses to stimulate stomach nerves/muscles so that they in turn push the stomach contents down to the next part of the digestive tract. The gastric pacemaker itself is implanted below the skin in the abdomen, just below the ribs, with two electrodes also implanted on the wall of the stomach. The surgery is done with the patient under general anesthesia and takes between one and three hours to perform. An overnight stay at the hospital is typical.
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