[History of the evolution of surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease].

The GERD has probably existed since the beginning of mankind but it took several millennia since any perception or knowledge of this disease started to evolve. Homo est quod est--the man is what he eats is an old Latin proverb and heartburn has been one of the most common documented symptoms in humans in the last two centuries. The term peptic esophagitis has been introduced in 1935, but the evolution of knowledge of pathogenesis, incidence, complications and way of treatment of GERD has been quite slow. In the last decade several new aspects of these problem have evolved and probably explained many unanswered questions of this very common and sometimes severe disease.