Nissen 2 times any advice?

Had a lap Nissen in July 2010 but 12 months later had severe pain in the upper abdomen that got me admitted to hospital, then got fobbed off by doctor who actually stated "I do not know what a Nissen fundoplicatin is but I do know your problems are not due to this". Anyhow after having lots of issues with burping, pain, heartburn and vomitting blood I saw my gp & his response was the same. 12 months later and lots of moaning I have had a gastroscope and surgeon stated that there was absolutely no sign of original operation left. I am now looking at repeating the fundoplication but I wondered if anyone could offer their own experience.
1. Is the recovery as before or harder 2nd time?
2. Is it possible lap?
3. Anyone else have similar symptoms (belching and pain Lh side of chest)

My symptoms this time are different in that I have issues with a lot of belching, pain in stomach (constant low level with occasions of more intense pain), acid reflux and general feeling unwell. Whereas before my first fundoplication it was just reflux.

Hi. I feel just the same. Had redo 180 fund 3 weeks ago and think it's failed. I too feeling generally unwell, burping a lot, heartburn and chest pain. Combined with nausea and retching it's very unpleasant. I want to know what the next option is too.

Hi John,

My first fundo failed after 8 years, and I was able to find a surgeon willing to do a second -- and to keep it laparoscopic. Unfortunately, every time the procedure is redone, you increase the likelihood of failure and increase some of the side effects. Whereas before, I was told I could eventually resume normal activity, this time I was told to avoid pulling, pushing, or lifting anything over 20 lbs. for the rest of my life. (Likely, some of that is due to the massive mesh repair that they needed to do to the diaphragm the second time. I have >50% herniation.)

Two years later, I'm having similar symptoms to you. Chest pain, terrible gas, fatigue, and "unwellness." I'm likely going in for #3... and the surgeon is still willing to do it laproscopically.

If you want it to be a close procedure, you need to search out the right doctors. If you hear scary things about the procedure, find other doctors. You may need to travel to do it. I get surgery done hundreds of miles away from where I live just because I think the doctor is right for me.

Hey John! I've had 3 nissens and will be getting a 4th soon. All of my recoveries and restrictions were the same. I'm seeing a new specialist who did a scope and said my wrap is herniated, twisted, and broken down. I did have some scar tissue removed with the last nissen. The same incisions were used except 1. Of course there will be a higher risk of complications after every one but if you're symptoms aren't managed with meds, I would consider it.

Gaviscon, 3 weeks is way too early to tell if the wrap has failed. Everything has been redone and needs time to settle and let the swelling go down. Burping is good, you won't be as bloated. Don't lose hope just yet!

Cmac-

I had my redo done (and am scheduling the 3rd one) at Johns Hopkins. There is a very small club of American doctors that routinely do these redos. I saw another surgeon in Atlanta before returning to Hopkins (insurance requirement) who told me he does them "all the time," but then did exactly the same thing as John's surgeon -- telling me I should just try PPI's and that if he "attempted" it, I should expect to wake up with a feeding tube in my abdomen...

My Hopkins doctor told me that the feeding tube thing comes from the redo procedure used 20+ years ago.

If you can afford to travel for surgery, I highly recommend finding a doctor at a teaching hospital who does *research* on GERD, and gets to tweak and modify the procedure instead of just doing it the way its been done for 20+ years. After all, the failure rates for the "old" procedures are high.