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AdventHealth Lake Wales first in Polk County to offer groundbreaking gastric pacemaker surgery

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Enterra helps patients suffering from nausea and vomiting due to gastroparesis, a rare debilitating stomach disease. (photo courtesy: Enterra Medical)
 
The innovative medical treatment will help patients who suffer from gastroparesis, common in people with diabetes
 
LAKE WALES, Fla. (Monday, August 04, 2025) -- AdventHealth Lake Wales is the first hospital in Polk County to offer the unique FDA approved Enterra treatment. Enterra helps patients suffering from nausea and vomiting due to gastroparesis, a rare debilitating stomach disease.

According to the device manufacturer, Enterra acts as a pacemaker for the stomach and helps when the stomach muscles aren’t working properly, or at all, to digest food.

Dr. Robert Browning, IV, of AdventHealth Lake Wales, successfully implanted the first Enterra gastric pacemaker in Polk County on Thursday, July 31.

“Gastroparesis is a miserable disease. Severe cases lead patients to vomit multiple times a day and sometimes be hospitalized for dehydration. There are few medications to treat this disease and some cost patients upwards of $500 a month. Adding Enterra to our treatment options completes the missing link in care for our community. While there isn’t a cure for gastroparesis, the Enterra treatment often significantly lessens the symptoms, allowing patients to return to work, and improve their quality of life,” explained Dr. Robert Browning.

August is Gastroparesis Awareness Month and AdventHealth doctors are bringing attention to this condition that can have several causes, including type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes and post-surgical complications.  Symptoms include unexplained nausea and vomiting, and the constant sensation of feeling full.

“The procedure to install the gastric pacemaker is an outpatient, robotic, minimally invasive surgery, lasting for about an hour. The patient typically returns home the same day and notices a drastic reduction in symptoms within a month,” Dr. Browning said.

Dr. Browning, who began working for AdventHealth Lake Wales in January, has been implanting Enterra pacemakers since 2015. He and Dr. Naga Thatimatla, with AdventHealth Dade City, are two of only 24 surgeons in Florida who offer the treatment.

AdventHealth Lake Wales is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and compassionate care to our patients when it comes to managing and overcoming gastrointestinal disorders.

For more information on AdventHealth Lake Wales, visit AdventHealthLakeWales.com.
 
Illustration of implanted Enterra device. (photo courtesy: Enterra Medical)
 
Exterior photo of AdventHealth Lake Wales, photo courtesy: AdventHealth
 
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AdventHealth Lake Wales first in Polk...

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