Watch LifeLine LifeLine looks at how a tiny sewing machine is helping doctors at the Mayo Clinic sew up problems with stomach acid. The procedure includes a miniature sewing needle, some thread and a light and video camera on the tip of an endoscope. The unit is inserted through the mouth and down to where the esophagus joins the stomach. That's the critical area where patients have trouble with heartburn, according to doctors.
Gastric acids wash up the area, so the procedure is used to tighten the channel.
After the sewing machine is guided into place, the doctor takes a pinch of tissue and makes a couple of stitches. The loops are knotted from outside the patient's body. Marti Kirchmann was part of the clinical trials that helped the procedure gain FDA approval. She avoided some of her favorite foods, such as pizza, chocolate and pastries, for 10 years. The pain, however, remained.