Esophageal Stent

[JaneHNY]

Greetings all...I lost my esophagus 16 years ago due to a failed Nissen Fundaplication. My stomach was pulled up to attach, but it is placed over my heart as they could not use the center of my chest. The scar tissue has gotten to the point that I need to have a stent put in to assist with swallowing. Has anyone had a stent? Any information you can share on what I can expect would be helpful. Thank you!

[Hidden]

Stents are not uncommon, but most often they are used to keep the oesophagus open enough by counteracting pressure from a tumour. Sometimes stents are inserted as a temporary measure in other circumstances.

Generally they do not have one-way valves, so they do allow food to pass through downwards, but you also have to cope with what will then reflux upwards. I am not sure how flexible they are to cope with anything other than soft/liquid food. They can get blocked sometimes - but lemonade can help. You also have to be aware that they can slip out of position at times - there are different profiles and sizes that can be used.

It sounds as if they have tried to deal with the excess scar tissue already and this has now become a necessary option?

There is some general advice about stents in the booklet 'Swallowing - Nutrition when it's Difficult' that you can download from the OPA website

opa.org.uk/downloads.html

[JaneHNY in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for the response! I really, really appreciate it! Yes I have been going through dilatation for 16 years but the scar tissue is just getting too bad now. I know I am not the typical case for the stent as I have no tumor. I was concerned as my gastric pull-up is connected over my heart in the thorasic cavity and I wasn't sure it that would put pressure on my heart. I will download the booklet you mentioned Thank you again!