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Ethicon | Linx Reflux Management System
This anti-reflux device originally from Torax Medical (recently pur-
chased by J&J's Ethicon) is a modern take on the Angelchik devices
that have been around since the '70s for treating patients with chronic
reflux, and this one is remarkably simple and durable. It's a small,
flexible ring — about the size of a quarter — of titanium wire passing
through a series of titanium beads, each with its own magnetized
core. The device is laparoscopically implanted around the patient's
lower esophageal sphincter; no alterations to the stomach are neces-
sary. The ring expands to let food and liquid pass through the esopha-
gus and into the stomach, and then magnetized beads come together
to close the sphincter and keep acid and bile from coming up.
