Hi all
I'm three months post op from my partial Nissen Fundoplication and I wanted to leave my current opinion, that I don't think someone should risk this surgery unless they are suffering from GERD in way that is really messing up their life.
I'm wishing I didn't have the surgery at this point as I'm suffering from some sort of damaged nerve pain in the wrap area and needing to be dosed up with some reasonably strong painkillers (not fun) and I now have Irritable Bowl Syndrome which is something I've never had before, let's leave it at "unpredictable!" I'm having to accept that the recovery time is going to be a lot longer than I had hoped and there's no promise that I won't be left with one of these issues lingering on for life and it's statically very likely that I will need ongoing PPI treatment again before too long.
My reasons for surgery where that I was taking ever increasing PPI doses (60mg Omoprozole a day) before the surgery and didn't want a life of that. There was also the cancer risk, although my pipe was pretty clear on Endoscopy and let's face it we could all suffer some form of cancer in some part of our body anyhow, why lose the sleep on it. On top of that I would regurgitate food after a meal sometimes, but it wasn't too bad as most of the acid in my stomach was controlled by the PPI's. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant, but not unbearable by any means. I know that many people suffer regurgitation at night and it really effects their sleep, my heart goes out to them, I was lucky on that issue, never had it. If I'd suffered that type of regurgitation I would have absolutely no remorse on having the surgery and I think that the people who are most happy from the results of the surgery are exactly those who suffered that. I also suffered mild sore throats and it's really nice not to have that anymore, but it's no big deal.
I must stress that I'm really glad that I only had a partial wrap as I've had no problem with bloating and I can burp very easily; the only problem with that though is that my burps can be unpleasantly smelly when my system is blocked up, no one should have to taste a fart really, it's awful! I can also eat without it getting backed up at all and I can take pills no problem, many people who have a full Nissen wrap really suffer on that point. I must say though that it's great to be able to drink orange juice and any type of food I want, from that perceptive the surgery is a success.
And as for the people who look at this surgery as a WEIGHT LOSS program, please, it's an awful way to lose weight and many put it back on in the fortunate event that they recover well from the surgery.
I guess the point I wanted to make is please don't walk into this surgery without giving it loads and loads of consideration and research. There are some very unpleasant risks to this surgery and many do suffer them to some lesser degree.