Aggravated Achalasia?

[Guest guest]

Hi, all. My father had a duodenal ulcer last year that required

surgery and partial removal to stop the bleeding. He's a life-long

Achalasian. When he was hospitalized, they tried endoscopies to

check out his Achalasia, but attempts failed due to the narrowness

of his esophagus (even their tiniest instrument did not work). They

inserted a nose tube, but I think it was done with great difficulty,

and I'm not exactly sure what came of that or if it was successful.

Thankfully, my father recovered from the ulcer and was released. He

had lost 20 pounds while hospitalized because after the surgery he

had to be put on IV and could not eat real food for a while. His

weight did not improve after his release; in fact, he says that his

esophagus feels different, that it is more difficult now to swallow.

Before, he could eat pasta, some vegetables, and bananas. Now he is

lucky if he can swallow broth, resulting in severe weight loss. He

says his esophagus feels more impaired, and he wonders if the

endoscopy attempts or nose tube have scarred his esophagus somehow,

making eating more difficult. Right now even Ensure is difficult, so

he is on IV in the hospital.

Does anyone have any leads? The doctors currently cannot give me

answers as to why his Achalasia seems aggravated after the surgery.

Thanks so much!