Ivor Lewis (Removal of the oesophagus)

[Ian1964oz]

I have had an Ivor Lewis operation in 2009(removal of the oesophagus, lifting of stomach). If anyone is going through this and wants some information on what effects this has had on me please drop a line I will be extremely honest. Its not great and I will let you know all that I have experienced.

[deveretth]

What do you mean? Lifting of Stomach? I have a 10 cm mass in the upper

stomach and a leison tumor that extends into the lower esophogus. They're

talking about cutting it all out reducing the size of the esophogus and

stomach. Does it grow back? How do you feel today? i fear becoming

disabled.

I am located on Long Island, NY USA where i grew up. I participated with a

career doing forestry and ocean resource management in the Northwest

USA and Asia. It was alot of fun. and then i started getting sick when the

Fukishima Radiation arrived. if i can't work anymore, what else could i do?

[Hidden]

What happens in the operating theatre is that the oesophagus is removed, and the stomach 'lifted' so that it is joined up to the remaining stump of the oesophagus, in the chest area. Ivor Lewis was a surgeon who developed one particular surgical technique. Nowadays there is a fair chance that the surgery will be conducted laparoscopically (keyhole surgery) in some hospitals.

It is common for the tumour to be around the base of the oesophagus and/or top of the stomach. Once it is removed, it does not grow back. The digestive system is shortened so that food passes through the system quicker, and people have to eat 'little and often' because their stomach capacity is much smaller. There are various information sheets available on the OPA website opa.org.uk/downloads.html

opa.org.uk/pages/factsheets...

People who have had this operation do take a long time to recover to good health and strength, and many find that it is not possible to do physical work that requires bending if they have eaten recently. But others do undertake physical activities such as cycling, running and so on. Lots of people do manage to attain a good quality of life after this surgery. The recovery is a challenge to stamina and to coping with changes in the digestive system. Recovery cannot be rushed. You won't be as strong and fit as you once were, but you an still have a good quality of life if everything goes well for you.

A normal oesophagus is about 20 cm long in an adult, and around 2 cm wide, so it does sound as if you have a significant problem there. It will depend on the nature of the mass you described. If it is cancer, there will be an assessment done on the extent to which the tumour has progressed through the lining of the oesophagus / stomach, whether lymph nodes are affected, and whether any cancer has spread to other parts of the body. It is this analysis that affects whether an operation is worthwhile, together with how fit and strong the patient is to withstand a major operation.

Being diagnosed with this problem is a shock, and it does take time to get your head round all the implications. People do find it surprisingly helpful to be able to talk things through with trained nurses / counsellors to help them get on track with the mental side of things.