Sorry for the use of "feeding tube" without an explanation of the meaning. A normal stomach is a bowl designed to hold food and gradually break it down for entry into the small intestine. As the attached illustration shows, the stomach's physical configuration drastically changes after surgery, and its function as a bowl no longer exists. Using the "feeding tube" label is an attempt to illustrate that we still have an esophagus-type tube that provides a pathway for food intake. Perhaps calling the "feeding tube" a "new esophagus" would be more clear. My objective is to get patients to understand that the function of the stomach that we had is no longer possible. The "new esophagus", unlike the old esophagus is made of stomach material and does continue to produce some acid. The stub of the old esophagus is the juncture where the "new esophagus" is attached. At that point, the stomach acid can over time deteriorate the stub. That's why other steps need to be taken to reduce acid production. Over ten years ago I had an esophagectomy and the average life span to survive was five years. I'm going for twenty. I've been a patient advocate for ten years. You can private message me.