Post Surgery

Annie76

My husband had an Ivor Lewis Esophagectomy a little more than six weeks ago.  He is running a low grade fever off and on.  Also, last night he vomited soon after he went to bed, and there was a small amount of blood in the vomit.  Is there anyone else who has experienced this?

 

paul61

It might be a good idea to talk to his surgeon about the blood

The first few weeks after surgery can certainly be an anxious time. Lots of new issues with eating, fatigue, and keeping food down and not really being sure what is normal. A low fever off and on may not be cause for concern; and a minor trace of blood in food that comes up might be some staples from surgery moving a bit in the anastomosis, but both of them together might be a reason to at least have a conversation with your surgeon’s office to see if they would like him to come in and “take a look”.

I can tell you from personal experience that feeling nauseous after eating and bringing food back up is unfortunately relatively common for esophagectomy patients. It takes us a while to figure out how much we can eat before taking that one bite too much that causes discomfort, nausea, and dumping or vomiting.

A common cause of nausea is blood in the “stomaphagus” (your husband’s redesigned esophagus and stomach replacement). If it were me I would err on the side of caution and at least call the surgeon’s office and report your husband’s experience.

Best Regards,

Paul Adams

McCormick, South Carolina

DX 10/2009 T2N1M0  Stage IIB - Ivor Lewis Surgery  12/3/2009
Post Surgery Chemotherapy 2/2009 – 6/2009 Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
Eight Year Survivor

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