Esophagectomy scheduled in Los Angeles with Dr. Demeester

jhaynes

I am early stage EC and failed endoscopic treatment when a new lesion was found 11/4/10. Scheduled for surgery 12/13/10 at the USC Norris Cancer Center in Los Angeles. I am hoping to hear from others who have had the surgery as to recovery experiences, etc. Anyone who had the same surgeon would be helpful also. I have confidence in his skill, but always helpful to hear the experience of others. God Bless you all for the valuable contributions you provide on this site!

John Haynes

Tina Blondek

Welcome
Hello John and welcome to our family of ec patients and many survivors! I was a caregiver for my dad. He was dx in 11/08 with EC, not a candidate for surgery, he had 6 weeks of chemo and radiation. He did very well and went into remission for one year. In December 09, he was hospitalized for 8 days with a blocked bile duct. Come to find out after ultra sound and cat scan that he unfortunately had mets to his liver. He was given a stent in the bile duct, as well as a stent in his esophagus, which had become somewhat blocked from scar tissue. The radiation often will cause scar tissue. Both stents worked and made him feel better, but once he started chemo again for the liver cancer, he quickly went down hill. He passed away in March 2010. I still come here to this disscussion board and others so that I can use my experience with EC to help others like yourself. There is one gentleman on this dicussion board who lives in CA. His name is Steve, and his screen name is heartofsoul. He has survived cancer. I will let him know you are new to this site and are looking for any and all information. We are always here for you. We will be thinking of you and praying for you. Keep us up to date.
Tina in VA

paul61

Surgical experience
John,

I am 62 years old and had Ivor Lewis surgery in December of 2009. I was Stage IIb.

I was in the hospital for 12 days after surgery with the first three days in the ICU. I had minimal complications (I did get a surgical incision infection that required administration of antibiotics and an additional two days of hospital stay to clear up.)

My in hospital stay was focused on pain management and insuring that my lungs were exercised and clear. No food or liquids by mouth for the first 5 days and then xrays to insure the anastomosis had no leaks. Liquid diet for the next two days, then semi-solids for two days, and then normal food (in very small amounts).

I had a j-tube inserted as a part of the surgery to augment my nutritional input. I used the j-tube for three weeks after I came home.

I will not spend any time on my “surgical recovery” since I assume you will have an MIE rather than Ivor Lewis so your recovery will be much faster than I experienced. I will however spend some time on recovery related to digestive system modifications that were a part of the surgery. I had about two thirds of my esophagus and one third of my stomach removed. As a result I had some significant life style changes to make.

During the first three weeks after surgery “dumping syndrome” occurred at least three times a week. Shortly after eating I would get strong abdominal cramps followed by diarrhea. I found that following these rules improved the situation considerably:

1. Eat small meals frequently (I eat seven times a day)
2. Drink very little liquid during meals (Drink 1 hour after meals)
3. Avoid simple carbohydrates and sugar.
4. Avoid greasy or spicy foods
5. Avoid milk
6. Sit down and relax for about 30 minutes after eating

I am now 11 months post surgery and I am very close to being back to normal. I walk about 4 miles a day for exercise and play golf a few times a week. I can now eat about anything I want (high sugar items excluded) in relatively small amounts (although the amount I eat has increased over the last few months.) Dumping is now a rare occurrence, usually because I break the rules listed above.

I do have some carryover side effects from my adjuvant chemotherapy; some minor neuropathy in my toes, and some dental issues. In general I feel better every day. My last two CT scans have been clear. I am on a bi-monthly follow up schedule with my oncologist.

Shortly after surgery I felt that I had difficulty fully expanding my right lung but as I continued my exercise program that seems to be improving.

In general I would say a complete recovery from surgery took about 11 months. I am sure that time was impacted by adjuvant chemotherapy and the fact that I had an Ivor Lewis procedure.

I would expect your recovery time to be much shorter.

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
McCormick, South Carolina

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
6/21/2010 CT Scan NED

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

jhaynes

paul61 said:

Surgical experience
John,

I am 62 years old and had Ivor Lewis surgery in December of 2009. I was Stage IIb.

I was in the hospital for 12 days after surgery with the first three days in the ICU. I had minimal complications (I did get a surgical incision infection that required administration of antibiotics and an additional two days of hospital stay to clear up.)

My in hospital stay was focused on pain management and insuring that my lungs were exercised and clear. No food or liquids by mouth for the first 5 days and then xrays to insure the anastomosis had no leaks. Liquid diet for the next two days, then semi-solids for two days, and then normal food (in very small amounts).

I had a j-tube inserted as a part of the surgery to augment my nutritional input. I used the j-tube for three weeks after I came home.

I will not spend any time on my “surgical recovery” since I assume you will have an MIE rather than Ivor Lewis so your recovery will be much faster than I experienced. I will however spend some time on recovery related to digestive system modifications that were a part of the surgery. I had about two thirds of my esophagus and one third of my stomach removed. As a result I had some significant life style changes to make.

During the first three weeks after surgery “dumping syndrome” occurred at least three times a week. Shortly after eating I would get strong abdominal cramps followed by diarrhea. I found that following these rules improved the situation considerably:

1. Eat small meals frequently (I eat seven times a day)
2. Drink very little liquid during meals (Drink 1 hour after meals)
3. Avoid simple carbohydrates and sugar.
4. Avoid greasy or spicy foods
5. Avoid milk
6. Sit down and relax for about 30 minutes after eating

I am now 11 months post surgery and I am very close to being back to normal. I walk about 4 miles a day for exercise and play golf a few times a week. I can now eat about anything I want (high sugar items excluded) in relatively small amounts (although the amount I eat has increased over the last few months.) Dumping is now a rare occurrence, usually because I break the rules listed above.

I do have some carryover side effects from my adjuvant chemotherapy; some minor neuropathy in my toes, and some dental issues. In general I feel better every day. My last two CT scans have been clear. I am on a bi-monthly follow up schedule with my oncologist.

Shortly after surgery I felt that I had difficulty fully expanding my right lung but as I continued my exercise program that seems to be improving.

In general I would say a complete recovery from surgery took about 11 months. I am sure that time was impacted by adjuvant chemotherapy and the fact that I had an Ivor Lewis procedure.

I would expect your recovery time to be much shorter.

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
McCormick, South Carolina

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
6/21/2010 CT Scan NED

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

Thanks for the information
Thank you for sharing your experience with me! I do not know my staging now. Before Nov.4 it was T1-aN0M0. I will most likely have the MIE surgery, however, they will remove lymph nodes and the Vagus nerve. This seems to be implicated in some of the dumping. The fact that you no longer have a sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach, and in most cases, no valve between the stomach and the small intestine contributes greatly!
I am glad to hear that your course seems to be going well. It wish you God's Blessing as you continue to live with this disease. Enjoy each day and the loved ones that surround you!

John Haynes