<[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:Hello everyone,
I am seeking advice regarding bile reflux. My mother had
a radical gastrectomy about 7 years ago, at first she had
a difficult time holding down food but had been doing
alot better.
The problem right now is that she sometimes feels a
burning sensation along her asophagus, her doctor says its
Bile, and she takes Carafate to keep it under control. It
helps but still does not totally keep the bile under
control, often at night she says she feels the same
burning sensation come back.
I am worried that this "burning" might be wearing away her
asophagus, and I am wondering if anybody has any advice.
I've asked the doc but he has no further suggestion beyond
Carafate, does anybody have any ideas?
I've been trying to find resources on the net for people
who have had radical gastrectomies and their experiences,
but so far have come up empty.
Thank you for listening, and best wishes to all those
other folks out there who are sick or suffering.
It would be important to know how her esophagus was re-
connected to the rest of her intestinal tract after the
stomach was removed. Normally it would be done in a
configuration called "roux-en-y". This routes all of the
bile and pancreatic enzymes well downstream from the
esophagus. Sometimes, the esophagus may be reconnected to
the small intestine as just an in-continuity loop. This is a
bad way to do it because all of the bile etc must flow right
by the esophagus.
If she is having a lot of bile reflux, then the esophagus
was either reattached via an in-continuity loop, or the
surgeon didn't make a long enough intestinal limb for the
roux-en-y. In either case, re-operation would be the only
way to stop the bile reflux.
Bile reflux is indeed a problem in that is does severely
irritate the lower esophagus. It can acutely increase the
risk of severe esophagitis, and chronically increase the
risk of esophageal cancer. She should re-visit her surgeon.
She needs an upper GI endoscopy, and she needs to understand
how the esophagus was re-connected. Get a copy of her
operative report and visit another surgeon for a second
opinion if necessary. If re-operation is required, as it
probably is, some surgeons can do that laparoscopically.
HMc
