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Esophagus Surgery

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Posted 4/11/2014 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
I had 75 percent of my esophagus removed in 2012. I've been doing the CT scans and all that since. The doctor the did the surgery after last month has put me on yearly checkups. I have this big old scar on my stomach and eat like a bird and have probably lost around 26 pounds. Here's the thing. Depending on how I eat and what I eat... If I am not careful I will do the dumping thing soon after eating. My stomach constantly growls. I feel pretty good but was curious if anybody else has had the surgery and are experiencing some of the issues I do. They found some cancerous cells after doing a endoscopy. The doctor slipped up and said we got most of it when we did the biopsy. Okay well why did you have to take 2/3 of my esophagus? He said this way we got it all. That answer didn't set well with me. I was over weight and had type two diabetes. After the surgery I was taken off my meds and my blood sugar stabilized. The was the only good thing to come out of the surgery. Okay and maybe I avoided cancer. If I had to do it all over again I would have opted for the laser surgery. I wouldn't have a scar, might still be on meds but at least I could eat anything I wanted.
Posted 4/11/2014 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
DCBLUE

Welcome to Healing Well.

Sorry to hear about your surgery. When my esophagus tore during an EGD to check barretts it wouldn't stop leaking after they repaired the hole and added a plura patch. Even an esophagus stent didn't stop it from leaking.
While I haven't had the surgery you had I was scheduled to have it twice in one week, but they cancelled it a couple hours before surgery to try some other things first.

I do remember what my surgeon told me about life after the surgery though. He told me that dumping would be a problem if I ate to much since the small intestine can't handle very much food at all and it has to act like a stomach with this surgery. He also said certain foods would cause it to and I would learn what would trigger it, but some things like sugary or fatty foods would be worse. He told me I would need to eat about 6 to 8 very small meals a day to have the best chance to avoid dumping.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 4/12/2014 3:18 AM (GMT 0)
Wish you speedy recovery. Well esophagus related sickness really sucks :( i know. Keep your gerd controlled to avoid more complications
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