“Does bariatric surgery help GERD?”

There are a few procedures which help GERD as well as Obesity. It depends on your specific case.

Not the sleeve Gastrectomy surgery , but RYGB help’s especially after weight loss.
Overeating can make GERD worse

Bariatric surgery does help GERD, gastroesopageal reflux disease/heartburn, most of the time. Losing abdominal weight decreases pressure on the stomach which means less force to push stomach juice up into the esophagus. The gastric bypass is especially good at curing GERD. Some sleeve gastrectomy patients will get a worsening of their GERD. If a hiatal hernia is present where the diaphragm opening for the esophagus is wide which allows the stomach to slide up into the chest and cause GERD, that hernia can be repaired at the time of the bariatric procedure, potentially curing GERD or decreasing its chance of occurring.

If you have gerd and are a candidate for gastric bypass, your surgeon should determine if you are a candidate for GERD opertion at the time of surgery or other type of reconstruction such as Roux-en-y gastrojujunostomy which is sometimes preferred on patients with a larger BMI. However bariatric surgery by itself can make gerd worse.

No, not unless a fundoplication is done at the same time. The usual bariatric surgery - either sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass - does nothing to stop acid from going up into the esophagus.