Swallowing issues 1 year after Hiatal hernia surgery & Lap Nissen.

Yes, considering Mayo ??? Thank You

Thank you for your reply’s @faithann64 and @amandaburnett . I had a follow up with my surgeon on March 7th a week after my fundoplication and had a ct scan the same day. my wrap was fine no slipped hernia or wrap being loose. My surgeon said that it’s most likely phrenic nerve irritation from the laparoscopic surgery it can mimic heartburn, pain in the chest, and also referred pain in the shoulder from the gas left from the surgery. He told I should not have to take my ppi medications anymore so I stopped taking them. About two weeks later the heartburn, chest pain started returning not as bad in pain terms but enough to make me feel uncomfortable again. maybe 3-4 times a week In cycles. I contacted my surgeon again and he sent me to do a barium swallow on April 8th. The results were no acid was coming up into my esophagus to cause the heartburn and my wrap was tight and intact. I told the doctor administrating the test I have what feels like heartburn still. He believed me that I have pain and discomfort, but that it wasn’t because of acid coming up from my stomach because the wrap was blocking it. My surgeon has referred to another GI doctor to find out if we can get to the bottom of this. I have my appointment on 5/12/2020 in a couple days. Sorry for the long reply I hope my punctuation is good. Some better news is my swallowing has gotten way better in the last week, I can eat better. Still not 100% but it’s improved. I hope they fix your hernia quick @faithann64 I haven’t lifted or done anything strenuous since feb 26 2020 for fear of hurting my wrap or having slipped hernia.

Thanks for all the replies. And hope you all heal soon. Mine feels more like sharp stabbing to throbbing pains. At times I feel a bump on my left side. When I had GERD that was more of a burning sensation which gave me an esophageal ulcer.

If the barium swollow doesn't show anything then they will do an upper endoscopy. been dealing with this since the surgery in January.

So I had the upper endoscopy earlier this morning and it showed I have severe Esophagitis ! ( Inflammation that damages the tube running from throat to stomach ) UGH. Caused from either stomach acid backing up or infection ?? So the surgeon took biopsy's and just waiting to here from him on the next step of this unfortunate process 1 year after surgery 🙁 This has been going on for sometime now and i'm hoping it can be fixed ????

I’m sorry to hear about the esophagitis. Good thing that they found something and now most likely they can fix it. Although I’m taking back because if you have the nissen fundoplication This is supposed to prevent acid from coming up from the stomach to the esophagus. I’ve been hearing that stress can cause acid to rise and just stress does a bunch of bad things and makes the hormones in your body go haywire. I’ll pray for you and I hope things get better for you buddy.

That does sound very painful, but I am so glad they found the problem and can start a resolution for it. It is much better than being left in the dark and not having a solution. 🙂

Please keep us posted.
Praying for your complete healing...

Hello @faithann64,

Thanks for reporting back after your procedure. I am so glad to hear that you had the upper endoscopy and that your doctor found the problem with your swallowing issues. As @amandaburnett said, it is good that they found the issue so that a treatment plan can begin. I thought you might find the following discussions on Connect helpful from others who are dealing with issues with their esophagus. Here are the links,

https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/esophageal-problem/
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/esophageal-motility-disorder-dont-know-what-to-eat/

Were you given any diet recommendations or will that come after the biopsy results?

I am six weeks post-op and I am experiencing the same symptoms, minus the heartburn; thank goodness, What ultimately did they do to give you some relief?

I had a laparoscopic Nissen in 2014 and open revision with hiatal hernia repair in 2015, I have been having swallowing difficulties, some GERG and occasional regurgitation recently. I had an EGD which reveled esophagitis and it was also noted the nissen appeared loos and there was a small hiatal hernia. I am concerned as the surgery in 2015 was very difficult but concerned it may be headed that way. I am just wondering on others experiences and if there were other options i can consider or should I begin to prepare myself psychologically for another surgery