With a prevalence in Western countries of around 15%, GORD is associated with considerable long-term morbidity and treatment costs. Since the introduction of laparoscopic surgery in the 1990s fundoplication has becomes a viable alternative to long-term drug therapy in difficult to treat patients. Partial fundoplication was developed as an alternative to the complete wrap in order to reduce the prevalence of post-operative symptoms such as bloating and dysphagia. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the effectiveness of two different surgical techniques of laparoscopic fundoplication (partial versus total) for the treatment of GORD in adults. METHODS: A systematic search of the literature was carried out. All randomised trials comparing total versus partial laparoscopic fundoplication were included. The main outcome measure was the number of patients who were symptom free at follow-up. Other outcome measures reviewed included clinical outcomes, PROs and QoL. In addition any long-term follow-up data were reviewed. RESULTS: Seven randomised trials identified met the inclusion criteria for this review. All trials included compared laparoscopic total fundoplication compared to partial fundoplication. Post-trial follow-up results varied between 3 -6 months and a variety of outcome measures were reported. One study reported 12-month results. There was no reporting on quality of life, though three trials reported PROs. Dysphagia was more frequently reported in patients undergoing total fundoplication compared to partial warp RR 2.82 [95% CI: 18.4, 4.32]. No significant differences in post-operative bloating was found between the two surgical techniques. There was no significant difference in the number of patients reporting either "good" or "excellent" outcomes between techniques RR 0.97 [95% CI: 0.89, 1.05]. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from trials supports the view that both total and partial fundoplication are clinically effective for treating GORD. However, long-term efficacy and QoL data are needed to choose one technique over the other.