Has anyone here had this procedure done,or know someone that has had it done. I would like to hear from people with first hand experience with this surgery. My doctor has recommended that I have it done, but I am reluctant.
Sorry, I've never heard of it. The doctor I saw for my heartburn and reflux prescribed a medication for it but I didn't have any further testing done for it. I did have a colonoscopy because I was having some bleeding with bowel movements.
Maybe someone else reading here may know about it.
Wishing you well, Joanne
If you keep a green bough in your heart, the singing bird will come.
To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.
Have you looked into the less invasive procedures ? Such as the Bard EndoCinch ? Just put in EndoCinch to search for the information, and find doctors who do this procedure.
I had the Nissen surgery about 5 years ago after putting up with 18 years of stomach trouble and chomping down thousands of dollars of medicine. The last test procedure before the surgery was an esophageal motility test that showed that the lower end of my esophagus did not close everytime like it should. My surgery was done with a scope and I missed 1 week of work. Given the choice of previous stomach trouble or a cure by this surgery I still would have it done. Also note that this is one of few surgical procedures that can be reversed if you did not like the results. My doctor said that 2 out of 1000 procedures he did resulted in reversal requests.
I would like to hear from people who have had endoscopic procedures done to treat GERD. I have a feeling that I am going to have to do something, because PPI's are not helping enough. It is causing sinus infections and asthma. Someone sent me a private message, but it was not allowed to go through.
I had the laparoscopic surgery, in which the stomach is wrapped around the lower part of the esophagus to correct acid reflux and a hiatal hernia five weeks ago. I am doing great...still can't eat, but doing great ! Mikado
mikido, Glad the surgery went well, and you're doing great! This surgery appears rather extreme. Did the meds stop working for you? What was the primary reason the surgery was performed? Was it relfux or hiatal hernia, or both? Hiatal hernia seems to be mentioned quite a bit for with individuals who had the surgery.
Wishing you continued progress through the recovery process.
I had a Nissen Fundiplication done in March 2004. I had fairly good results until in August (2005) I started having many GERD symptoms. The symptoms came back after helping my daughter with a move where I was very active, lifting boxes and so on. My physician said he did not feel the activity should affect the Nissen but I can only report what I observed.
My symptoms were bad enough that I was considering a redo of the Nissen. My GI doc did an endoscopy and said the wrap was 'flapping in the wind' to indicate it was loose. I had a subsequent Bravo (implanted pH monitor placed by endoscopy that falls off after a few days and is passed in the stool) test (which requires another endoscropy) and the physician who did the Bravo placement noted the wrap was loose and likely to cause reflux symptoms.
I contacted a surgeon who insisted on doing his own endoscopy before surgery and he found the wrap intact and firm enough such that he didn't expect me to have symptoms. The Bravo test came back negative (not enough acid to warrant surgery) and I noted during the test that I was remarkably free of GERD symptoms during the test.
I'm confident I was having severe GERD symptoms with regurgitation and so on. I
believe things have improved since things got noticeably worse in August 2005. The docs all claim there is no explanation for why my symptoms would get worse then better. I'm now getting the impression they think I'm a bit psycho; I'm convinced that the docs think anyone who can't be easily diagnosed must be imagining their symptoms. My brother, the doctor (professor of medicine), claims I'm caught in a diagnostic dilemma. I suppose things will have to get much worse before I'll definitely need a redo of the Nissen. For now I'm doing just Ok, some symptoms but evidently not severe enough to warrant a redo of the Nissen.
I'm happy to be able to avoid the surgery but am uncertain on the status of my wrap.
I do think my wrap was compromised in the first weeks after the srugery due to some bad advice by my surgeon. The surgeon who did my first wrap does many Nissens and is affiliated with a major university medical center. He claimed I could eat a normal diet immediately after the surgery and that for the first week after surgery I should 'not play rugby'. The surgeon I consulted about the redo is also associated with a major university medical center, has practice that is 99% devoted to GERD, and claims his protocol for post surgery is much different. After my first surgery I am reasonably certain that by eating normal foods starting 12 hours after my surgery (while still in the hospital) and being more active and lifting more than was wise (but I didn't play rugby) that I compromised my wrap.
It is my belief that I wouldn't be having the problems I'm having now if I had been more careful with diet and activity in the weeks following my surgery.
Overall I think the surgery was a good thing and blame the early failure on what I have done to myself, albeit, following doctor's orders. If medically indicated I would have the procedure redone.
My wife had a nissen fundoplication procedure 3 years ago and since then has been in constant pain, nausea, and vomitting since. If you had complications, what remedies have worked? Thanks
I don't think that the wrap could have been done properly if you were able to eat normally 12 hours after surgery. It was 36 hours before I was given anything to eat, and for very good reason, it took me over an hour to get 4 spoonfuls of porridge down.
2 weeks later, I'm still on a very much liquid diet and struggling to get enough fluids down.
Can anyone give me any advice on what I can eat to vary my diet - I'm going crazy on soup. Mashed potato, very overcooked macaroni cheese and scrambled eggs are possible to get down, but a long and painful process.
Has anyone else found it particularly difficult to swallow fluids? I'm very badly dehydrated any my skin's in a horrendous state.
Hope someone out there can help.
For those considering surgery, I would still recommend it. Once food is down, it stays down - something I haven't regularly experienced in over 10 years. The constant pain of acid wearing away at my gullet is gone. I'm just looking forward to being able to eat better.
Based on the after effects that I've heard, I am also reluctant. I am going to try the Plicator procedure. I am looking into the risks but it sounds pretty safe.
From what I read, the Nissan Fundo can result in it being hard to burp, vomit, and makes you feel bloated for quite some time. It just sounds uncomfortable.
I have to say that I'm only 2 1/2 weeks in and there's no pain at all with my insides. The muscles have healed very well - I can move fairly freely, and the wounds on the outside are looking pretty good. In fact one of them is just a little scar already.
It is very difficult to swallow, but every few days I can manage something new, so it is recovering rapidly.
One thing that you should be prepared for if you decide to go ahead is that you might experience a fair amount of sharp pain in your chest or left shoulder for the day following surgery. Nobody warned me about this, but it is the result of having had air pumped into the abdomen to facilitate the surgery. This air is removed as far as possible, but little pockets may remain and can take a couple of days to completely disperse. You just need to persevere and take painkillers to get past it.
Having lived with GERD for many years, I don't regret the surgery.
Its funny how the people here are talking like the symptoms after the surgery far out way the good points. True I had shoulder pain, I didn't eat solids for nearly 2 months and I can't burp or vomit. I also seem to be one of the rare ones who swallows air but this can be sured by speech therapy which i haven't gotten around to. But in all honesty I'd do it again and again and again the relief from the constant burning, nausea and random vomitting is amazing. I feel like I have a new lease on life and i'm only 25. I had the surgery at 21 and by the time I had the surgery I was so miserable that my quality of life was definitely zero. I would highly reccommend this surgery to anyone who needs it. Sure the first week is uncomfy but as soon as you go your first week without burning it really is worth it.
Delz, again, thanks for your thoughts on this. And, for some people, yes, the good outweighs the bad...especially since the discomfort from the surgery will go away, but, if you don't get the procedure, the burning stays.
I guess everyone has to decide if they need the procedure bad enough...some people are willing to live with the burn.
This is my first time writing. I am going to have the surgery on Feb. 20 and honestly, I can't wait. I have been researching and the hardest thing to find out is what you can or can't eat and drink. The surgeon and the hospital said they would give me list after surgery. Great then I go to the grocery store on my way home! Sorry about the sarcasm. Any suggestions?
Post Edited (sa46sp) : 2/14/2008 12:58:59 PM (GMT-7)