Nissen Questions

Lifeisgood · #1 09-03-2007, 04:02 PM

Looking for your experiences here...

How old was your child when they had the nissen done?

Did it reduce the vomiting? Significantly or not much?

Did it last or did it come undone, and if it came undone, how long after the surgery?

If it is successful, and stays put, will it stay like that forever? I mean, what if she eats something bad and needs to vomit when she’s 8? Will she not be able to?

Also, has anyone had any experience with a Pyloroplasty? (surgery to widen the opening of the end of the pylorus, which is found in the lower portion of the stomach, so that stomach contents can empty into the small intestine).

Her GI says that with so many medical issues, Harlie is destined to have GI problems for life. Something about it stressing out your body and system (gastritis, etc.). Anyone hear the same thing for your kids?

I will appreciate ANY input you can give me.

Thank you!
Christy

JWorthington · #2 09-03-2007, 04:18 PM

Sam was just over 2 when he had his nissen done. It has not needed to be redone so far and he has had it for 2 1/2 years. He used to vomit and reflux constantly, since the nissen he has never vomitted. If we give him too much feed, or give his feed too quickly he will retch and heave, but never vomit. We also have been told that Sam will require tube feeding all his life, because of his swallow.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have any more questions.

Love Juliex

bradensmom · #3 09-03-2007, 04:35 PM

We have been very lucky with Braden. He had his NISSEN done when he was two months old and he has not vomited since that time. He is now twelve years old.
Amy

drct1245 · #4 09-03-2007, 04:40 PM

How old was your child when they had the nissen done?
First one - 4 months old
2nd - 9 months old

Did it reduce the vomiting? Significantly or not much? YES! We went from every meal to none the 2nd time around ( we weren't around for the first one) When the first one was in tact, randomly, he would have a few bad days of getting stuff through his nissen and then be fine. Now days, we got through that cyclical spell, which were related to teething and excess saliva and air in his tummy.

Did it last or did it come undone, and if it came undone, how long after the surgery? As you can see it only lasted 5 months... I don't know why. He was in the hospital the whole time, so I know they were increasing his formula amount around that time, but don't know if that was the case or not.

If it is successful, and stays put, will it stay like that forever? I mean, what if she eats something bad and needs to vomit when she’s 8? Will she not be able to? We were told that as Ayden gets older and his stomach get larger, it will loosen and not be needed because the assumption is that he will be on solids.

Also, has anyone had any experience with a Pyloroplasty? (surgery to widen the opening of the end of the pylorus, which is found in the lower portion of the stomach, so that stomach contents can empty into the small intestine). Yes, the first time Ayden had his nissen they found this and corrected it. I don't know the effect of it.

Her GI says that with so many medical issues, Harlie is destined to have GI problems for life. Something about it stressing out your body and system (gastritis, etc.). Anyone hear the same thing for your kids? We have never heard such a thing, but I guess we have never asked either. It's hard to know since we didn't meet Ayden until he was 6 months old, so some of the long term issues or effects were not discussed with us and although we tried to cover everything, it doesn't always happen.

Hope this helps...

suzanne2545 · #5 09-03-2007, 04:42 PM

Parker had pyloroplasty for pyloric stenosis when he was about 5 weeks. Did you have any specific questions? They did it laproscopically through his belly button - one less obvious scar on the tummy. He didn't have any trouble. Didn't have to have it redone.

Suzanne

Mom2TwinsPlus1 · #6 09-03-2007, 06:07 PM

[quote=Lifeisgood;119490]Looking for your experiences here...

How old was your child when they had the nissen done? Emma was 3 days shy of being 2 months old.

Did it reduce the vomiting? Significantly or not much? She never vomited before, they just did the nissen as a routinue part of the g-tube surgery

Did it last or did it come undone, and if it came undone, how long after the surgery? It has not come undone, we have had it checked 2 times as a precaution and its still intact

If it is successful, and stays put, will it stay like that forever? I mean, what if she eats something bad and needs to vomit when she’s 8? Will she not be able to? I was told that somtimes it will allow a child to vomit if they need too, and then I was also told by another doctor it would allow for NO vomiting at all. I often wondered too what would happen if they were sick and needed to throw up, I guess they would just feel miserable? We were never given to option to not do the nissen, we were told it was part of having the g-tube

Jordansmom · #7 09-03-2007, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lifeisgood

Looking for your experiences here...

How old was your child when they had the nissen done?5 months

Did it reduce the vomiting? Significantly or not much?Very much. He was vomiting every meal, after the nissen he stopped vomiting completely & started to gain weight & was happier.

Did it last or did it come undone, and if it came undone, how long after the surgery? Unsure how to answer that one, Jordan started vomiting again 2 years after the nissen, all tests come back w/intact nissen, normal PH probe results, no reflux evidence, yet if I feed him orally or through his G-tube, he vomits.

If it is successful, and stays put, will it stay like that forever? I mean, what if she eats something bad and needs to vomit when she’s 8? Will she not be able to? Jordan's was successful, for 2 years we had no problems and the surgeon did the wrap just so to stop the vomiting, but if there was enough force to vomit with a virus or the stomach needed to expel, he could and did. It is very hard to do the wrap like that. If he was fed to much he would wretch & heave but when he had a stomach bug he did vomit.

Also, has anyone had any experience with a Pyloroplasty? (surgery to widen the opening of the end of the pylorus, which is found in the lower portion of the stomach, so that stomach contents can empty into the small intestine).The need for that may be determined by a gastric emptying study. Jordan has had those studies and passed those tests as well.

Her GI says that with so many medical issues, Harlie is destined to have GI problems for life. Something about it stressing out your body and system (gastritis, etc.). Anyone hear the same thing for your kids?I have not heard that and while I would keep in in mind to be prepared for the future, I also know kids are resilient & can bounce back rather well. Jordan's issues are from a brain injury. Stress does take it's toll on the body but I wouldn't put it past your little fighter to show them up.

I will appreciate ANY input you can give me.

Thank you!
Christy

TommysMommy · #8 09-03-2007, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lifeisgood

Looking for your experiences here....

How old was your child when they had the nissen done? Tommy was 2 1/2 months old

Did it reduce the vomiting? Significantly or not much? He was not vomiting, just refluxing. He had an acid probe test done to confirm this and had it done. He already had a gtube and the tube had to be moved as well.

Did it last or did it come undone, and if it came undone, how long after the surgery? It's never come undone and it's been almost a year.

If it is successful, and stays put, will it stay like that forever? I mean, what if she eats something bad and needs to vomit when she’s 8? Will she not be able to? We were also told it would eventually loosen on its own.

Also, has anyone had any experience with a Pyloroplasty? (surgery to widen the opening of the end of the pylorus, which is found in the lower portion of the stomach, so that stomach contents can empty into the small intestine).
No experience here.

Her GI says that with so many medical issues, Harlie is destined to have GI problems for life. Something about it stressing out your body and system (gastritis, etc.). Anyone hear the same thing for your kids? nope

I will appreciate ANY input you can give me.

Thank you!
Christy

.

Alethia · #9 09-04-2007, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lifeisgood

Looking for your experiences here...

How old was your child when they had the nissen done?
10 months

Did it reduce the vomiting? Significantly or not much?
It abolished the vomiting for many months. Since then he has vomited a couple of times, but only when he's actually been ill or coughed way too much so I figure that's normal.

Did it last or did it come undone, and if it came undone, how long after the surgery?
As far as we know, it's still patent, but it's definitely loosened as he can burp and vomit now when he needs to. He doesn't reflux anymore though, so that's fine.

If it is successful, and stays put, will it stay like that forever? I mean, what if she eats something bad and needs to vomit when she’s 8? Will she not be able to?
This varies from child to child. I reckon that many Nissens done on babies will relax significantly as the child gets older, allowing more normal GI behaviour in response to illness. Most of our kids will grow out of their reflux, so it should be OK in most cases.

Thank you!
Christy

Hope that helps! Love, Kate
XXXXX

cbissell · #10 09-04-2007, 05:16 AM

My son Anthony had his at 17 months of age, he is now 14 years old. He has only vomited a couple of times due to intestinal bugs, not reflux. However last October he had a spinal fusion and since then he has had more reflux and congestion. I think the surgery might have loosened something. But so far this has been manageable with Zantac.