Vomiting/Retching after Nissen

my daughter had Nielsen fundoplication. in Aug.2012'.she recently had a spell of nausea and retchingwith foam and mucus coming up.now she has what seems to be a return of her here symptoms . not much relief from meds . she had a cat scan at the hospital and they said the wrap was intact.what is happening,has the surgery failed?

Added title to thread.

Post Edited By Moderator (dencha) : 12/26/2012 5:29:25 PM (GMT-7)

Hi sreynolds,

Sorry to hear about your daughter's vomiting/retching episode.  There is a very good chance that her wrap is just fine, but will need some healing to overcome the irritation.  Since the wrap is made from the stomach, when something irritates the stomach it also irritates the wrap.  If her stomach is upset, she may have some increased reflux (the wrap doesn't stop all reflux, but rather, brings it down to "normal" levels. 

The esophagus is a "dumb organ" that interprets all irritation/pain as reflux.  It will take at least several weeks to heal and get feeling back to normal.  When I've had a wrap/stomach irritation, it could take as much as a few months to feel back to normal.

Be sure to encourage your daughter to eat more carefully until things settle down and heal.  Smooth foods (chew very carefully until whatever she eats is a liquid, creamy consistency)that are non-acidic, bland/not spicy should be her choice until she feels perfect for two weeks.  Then she can start introducing these types of foods back into her diet.  Be sure she listens to her body and follow its lead.

I hope she gets feeling better soon!  Of course, whenever you're concerned about something like this, it makes sense to contact her surgeon to alleviate your worries. 

Best wishes,

Denise

thank you for you responses.

Hi vess,

Welcome to Healing Well! Sorry to hear that your wife is having so many problems.

It is true that at her stage of the healing process the wrap becomes increasingly more swollen.  The swelling peaks on or about the two week mark and then begins to subside.  I have heard of other individuals who were hospitalized due to dehydration when their swelling was intense.  It's not common, but it happens.

It's good that she is sipping water...liquids are the most important.  She could sip soups, too, if she can manage them.  Be sure she doesn't use a straw, as it can introduce air into her stomach.  Iced or carbonated drinks are also off limits.

I'm sure she's coughing up and spitting out liquid that is sitting at the wrap site.  If she can stand just letting it sit there, it's most likely that it will drain into the stomach over time and increase her fluid intake.

Again, sorry to hear that she's having so much trouble with swelling.  Be sure to keep in contact with your surgeon or GI doc and let them know how much liquid she's managing to take in.  Watch for signs of dehydration.  She can always go into the hospital and get an IV setup.  Hopefully it won't be necessary.

Stick around and ask questions as they come up.

Good luck!

Denise

After talking with my wife about what i have learned i can add some additional info. On 12/24 they did a work up due to lack of bowel sounds. Work up for illness was negative. Abd now feels full with hypoactive bowel sounds. Bowels working fine now but after a few sips of liquid she feels full and belly is firm almost like being distended. Is this the worst of it and will relief come soon????? I know no one can actually predict that but with experience comes knowlege

Vess...I Know my daughter had a very hard time in the beginning,everything was hard to swallow and hurt. We both thought it would never get easier...but it did,aside from this latest incident, she was doing better.I think eating will always require special care,but I'm hoping after her body heals from this recent illness that she will not have the feelings of acid relux . We are trusting the Lord for her healing. Give her body a chance for the swelling to go down. We are in the 4th month and I think she still may have some swelling.Best wishes for you both! quote="vess"]my wife had the surgery on 12/17/12. after surgery she was told that there was some swelling and stayed an extra day at the surgical center. diet instructions were normal for after the procedure and when she was discharged. She has been on the liquid diet and after going home she began having some wretching symptoms with the foamy stuff just as you described. after about a week at home she became very dehydrated and was admitted back to the hospital and is still there. She has been on IV fluids and they ballooned the wrap, (yesterday) to help get some fluids to pass through and the dr, (a different one than the one who did the procedure) says the wrap looks perfect but there is swelling. She is still having trouble even with the liquids and is still wretching and spitting up the foamy saliva and phlym. She is taking in about 1/2 teaspoon per sip every 5-10 minutes. I am very worried and dont understand. My wife and I have asked questions but are still frustrated as they keep telling her to sip slowly and give the swelling time to heal. Am I overreacting. I am worried that she can not combat the swelling if she is not getting nutrition to keep her body healthy enough to fight it. Is this normal at this early stage of recovery.