Washington D.C. – September 29, 2026 -- Implantica AG launched its FDA-approved RefluxStop device in the U.S. market at the American Foregut Society (AFS) 2026 Annual Meeting, drawing an over-capacity crowd of more than 120 surgeons and gastroenterologists that forced organizers to turn away additional attendees.
FDA approval opens U.S. market for non-encircling GERD device
Following its recent Premarket Approval (PMA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, RefluxStop entered a U.S. GERD treatment market estimated at 78 million patients. Unlike conventional anti-reflux surgeries that wrap around the esophagus, RefluxStop is designed to restore natural anatomy without encircling the food passageway, aiming to reduce side effects such as dysphagia and inability to belch or vomit.
Panel of U.S. and European specialists reviews five-year clinical data
The RefluxStop symposium was moderated by Dr. John Lipham, AFS past president and Chief of Upper GI and General Surgery at USC's Keck School of Medicine, who cited five-year clinical study results and real-world data from more than 60 European centers. Additional panelists included AFS President Dr. Christy Dunst of Hoag Digestive Health Institute, Dr. Peter Kahrilas of Northwestern University, and specialists from Harvard Medical School, Washington University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Weill Cornell Medicine, alongside European surgeons from Austria, Switzerland and Germany.
Nearly 30 one-on-one meetings signal institutional adoption interest
Implantica Founder and CEO Dr. Peter Forsell reported that the symposium was followed by nearly 30 one-on-one meetings between him and surgeons or gastroenterologists interested in introducing RefluxStop at their institutions. Forsell cited data showing more than 40% of U.S. GERD patients continue to experience symptoms despite daily medication, positioning the device to address an unmet clinical gap.
Published clinical paper trends among top AFS conference papers
A peer-reviewed paper on the RefluxStop surgical technique, authored by the device's two largest users in Germany and Switzerland and published in the Journal of the American Foregut Society, ranked among the top trending papers at the meeting. Implantica said it is now focused on a systematic U.S. rollout through partnerships with medical institutions and physicians.