I, too, am very interested in answers to these questions as I consider the surgery. Perhaps you can re-title your post to something like Questions about Surgery....
Over a week ago I had a second endoscopy done (because I thought the stricture might have come back after the first endoscopy I had back in July.) I am now experiencing more discomfort than I had...
You might try visiting a naturopath in your area. They are medically trained at 4-year schools who treat patients through some alternative methods. Couldn't hurt!...