Reversal of Nissen Fundoplication

I'm 75 and in good health when I had the surgery for a hiatal hernia, That was a year ago on july 9. Like you I've had numerous tests done and each time everything has been normal.
I'm just now getting to where I can eat without severe diarrhea. I'm a long way from being back to normal but getting better. I also had my gallbladder removed at the same time as the hernia surgery.

@apetix24, Hi and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You have been through a lot in the past few years.

You will see that I moved your post to a discussion where others have had the same problem. I did this so you could connect with other members experiences too.

It looks as though @skipg above has had the same issues.

Have you talked to a surgeon about the possibility of a reversal and whether or not it would completely reverse the side effects of the initial surgery?

@apetix24
It has been a long journey.. and I am surviving. It is difficult.. especially dealing with other problems that come with age. I had achalasia and Barrett's esophagus before the surgeries at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. .. but the achalasia has worsened. I need another endoscopy to dilate my esophagus… and check the Barrett's.

My story is too long to type again… I wrote it out at my blog.. which I seem to have abandoned. I keep saying I will get back to it. No ads.
https://zarogasnook.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-long-time-passing.html

I had 2 Nissens- yes, 2! First one was great initially however the food thing was a concern. I was told it would take some time before eating could be more normalized--NOT normal! No bread, no rice, and no carbonated drinks. I could not burp, so carbonated anything went away. Over extended time there was some relaxation of the Nissen- my term, relaxation. I could eat more things, but never in large amounts. If I did try to eat large amounts, it would trigger either immediate diarrea action or more often, vomiting. this vomiting relieved the pressure. Even today, many years after those surgeries, I have to be careful about amounts. Why 2? The first one failed. After the surgery, I asked the doc about vomiting- what if I needed to vomit? He said, you can't! Kidding right? No. about 5-6 years post surgery, I became violently ill. I had been extremely careful about everything I ate- if it even looked like it smelled bad, I did not eat it.
The violent illness came with violent vomiting-not from pressure of "over eating". At one point during a vomiting session, I felt a "pop"- end of pressure, shortly later vomiting stopped- maybe some food poisoning-never really found out. Went back to GI doc, long story short, ended up with 2nd Nissen.
Same surgeon-he was surprised to see a case of a second Nissen. All the same pattern as the first. NO bread, no rice, etc. and altho I had tried a couple of beers toward the end time of the first surgery, I just gave up on beer all together. PLEASE KEEP READING.
About 6 years later, same thing with a bad vomiting session and the second one failed. I was meticulous about eating habits; in both cases the surgery fixed the reflux-immediately! And that was great as I read that extra acid in the esophagus was possible cause for Barrets (sp?) esophagus- cancer. Went to a new surgeon for a 3rd Nissen. He said that there was only about a 20%+/- improvement possibility. Did not recommend another. He tested my gut system for emptying--the other end of my stomach and found a delay in emptying which was a problem. said then there were two options- a "pacemaker-type" device implanted to increase stomach emptying capacity- usually worked in his other patients for about a year.
He then shared option 2: stomach removal- called subtotal gastrectomy with roun-Y. Yes, remove the stomach except for a small pouch about the size of a tangerine. I opted for the open time option- gastrectomy. Long and short- reflux permanently cured! No stomach created a multitude of other complexities. Very little food intake possible in one sitting-about 1 cup or combined liquid and solid foods; otherwise "dumping syndrome" took over- vomiting or diarrea. And the volume of food was very small, such that over time Iearned much to my parents' dismay- I could not clean up my plate. One more tortilla chip, one last little bite of any food and I could feel pressure which was painful enough that I went into the bathroom and forcefully vomited. Pressure relieved, all fine. Not so cool on a dinner date! But I have learned to live with it. Would I do it again? Alternatives? Barrets (cancer) of esophagus- no thanks! Had to give up on all alcohol as even a small amount was instantly absorbed and had the effect of a lot more. OK, so I gave up drinking any alcohol- not a real loss. Had adjusted eating habits over time- still run afoul once in a while, but not very often. So, given the alternatives, no thanks on the cancer- that seemed kind of permanent (fatal). Not having a stomach created several unanticipated outcomes- lack of energy, due to reduced food intake; and brutal gas- no locker room funny toots- room clearing gas! Embarrassing! I found a supplement- Devrom- and that took care of it...as long as I took it- chewable 3 x day. Miss a dose- sit on the porch...alone! Devrom is bismuth subgallate- and this is exactly what is needed- not any substitute at all- don't try, or...prep your porch seat! Later in my journey, I found out I had colon cancer- caught it early enough and was able to have it removed without causing the need for a "bag"-lucky me.
So, my 20 year journey has been a journey. I am now 70. I ride a bicycle upwards of 100-120 miles per week averaging 16-17mph. My weight is stable and I suspect that in end things are all right.
Sense of humor? Required! I tell people one more operation and I will qualify to hang on someone's wall!
Patience? Yes, as there were/are times when others around me do not understand my journey. And the explanation was too complex as you have seen- in all, it can be done. Be patient; be forgiving, be diligent. Your journey may not end up as far along as mine- but you may well have a journey. Feel free to contact me directly if you need; or anyone reading this can. I hope this gives you some insights.
Take care.

I just had my Nissen fundoplacation removed on 7-22-21. So far no problems. The original surgery was in 1996

Wow, I'm so glad to hear your reversal surgery went well even after so many years! I'm thinking of having mine reversed as well but have been worried about the length of time since first surgery. How did you decide which surgeon to trust to reverse it?

Same! Please, someone who has had a reversal, please let us know how it turned out!!

My NF was about 20 years ago and i have to go in for a dilation about once a year or so. I'm considering a reversal but im not as young anymore and am very concerned about complications after so many years.

I can tell you my coping strategies:

never drink anything cold while eating
be extremely careful when eating raw carrots, probably should avoid altogether
ALWAYS have a hot drink with every meal
be very careful with dry foods
keeping chin down (ish) while swallowing

Hope this might be helpful! Praying for us all!

I had a hiatal hernia repair with toupet fundoplication in April in Dallas. Presurgery symptoms consisted of 1000s of burping and acid leak into my throat at night. Now post surgery, there is a constant cacophony of gurgling sounds in my stomach, stomach bloat with any food, the acid has returned, throat feels raw, flatulence is round the clock, I experience daily bouts of very severe epigastric pain in the upper abdomen or so I think it is. I now suffer unexplained dizziness whenever I bend down suddely. I am more miserable now than before the procedure. I am seeing the surgeon in a couple of days would want to discuss a reversal, kinda want to know if anyone had gone through this and what worked or didn't work.

Hi @uzi and my welcomes to Mayo Clinic Connect. You have definitely been through the ringer with all of your symptoms.
I wanted you to be able to connect with other members who have had similar problems and surgeries, so you will see I moved your post to this discussion https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/nissen-fundoplication-reversal/ You can click on view and reply or you can go to your profile and see your post under comments.

There are many members who have been through either a toupet or nissen fundoplication here.

Here is an overview of the two of them.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14717528/
It is said that the toupet can have long term effects that are greater than the nissen. Did your physician suggest this particular procedure because of your pre-surgical symptoms?