Re: heller myotomy tomorow

[Guest guest]

jennygluck wrote:

>

> ... Dr. Salky in Mount Siani NY is performing the precedure. Has

> anyone ever headr of him or used him?

>

Doing a search of the messages for " Salky " I see 281 hits. A lot of

those are going to be quotes of other messages, but still you can see

this name has come up a number of times and some people speak highly of

him, but point out that while he take insurance he is not in any

insurance network (or so it has been reported in the past). So, be sure

you have covered the issue with your insurance and his office.

The first day is the hardest but not too bad. I felt like I had been

beaten up. The next day I was eager to go home. I had a nice room but

saw no reason I needed to stay there. A nice sofa and some everyday pain

meds when and if needed was all I needed. Popsicles are nice to have on

hand. Some people recommend a pillow to hold for the ride home.

notan

[Guest guest]

,

I am from NY and I was supposed to havy my myotomy with Dr. Salky back in

2004. I chose not to do anything about it and just go on with life. Probably not

the best choice but it doesn't matter now.

Dr. Salky is one of the best in NYC so you should feel that you are in good

hands.

As far as the myotomy goes, I wound up having mine last October of 2010 in

Pittsburgh with Dr. Luketich. I live in Atlanta now so I had to fly up there.

I went in on Tuesday for a consult and prep (drinking that Golytly drink to

clear out the digestive system). Wednesday morning I had surgery at 7am. It

lasted for 2.5 hours. He went in through my belly button and made 4 other little

incisions. I was given a Heller myotomy with a very floppy Dor fundoplication.

Recovery was uncomfortable it was hard to breathe at first. It hurt but the pain

meds helped with that. I had nothing by mouth that day, maybe I had water. On

Thursday I was given clear liquids and another barium swallow test to check for

leaks. All good there.

Take a pillow from home with you to press on your abdomen. It helps with pain

and also mobility. Its a must. It saved me.

Friday was more clear liquids and more walking around. I was still sore and on

pain meds but I was mobile. I flew home that afternoon.

Over the weekend I moved to full liquids which included cream soups, milk,

yogurt, puddings, purees, etc. I was off all pains meds by Monday. No lifting

anything heavier than 10lbs for 3 months.

I was on the full liquids for 10 days before I went to soft solids which

included almost all foods except for raw veggies and hard meats and breads. I

stayed on this diet for 3 months.

My scars are TINY. I swallow GREAT! Minimal reflux which I manage with a Pepsid

Prescription. The only lingering issue is IBS. it comes and goes. I thought it

was triggered by dairy and sweets but now I think it has a mind of its own. This

does not happen to everyone but I will say that it may take a while for your

bowels to adjust after this surgery so just be patient with your body.

As for me, I was 17 when I started having symptoms. I ignored them for 5 years

until I could no longer swallow water. I had a baloon dilitation when I was 21

almost 22 (1996) and I was relieved of my symptoms. I was told I was cured.

In 2004, i decided to have an endoscopy just to see how things looked down

there. I was swalloing well - or so I thought. My GI at the time (Dr. Yaffe in

NYC) told me to see Dr. Salky and get a myotomy. I chose not to.

Instead I lived with power chugging water to get food down. I got married, moved

to ATL and had twin boys. By 2010 things were getting wierd. Soemtimes my

esophagus would fill up with food and I would feel like I was suffocating. i

couldn't breathe or regurgitate to get the food out. It was so scary.

i decided in June to go for a barium swallow and that is when I found out that

my esophagus is Mega/sigmoid/end stage. Its 10.5cm in diameter at its largest

point but its about 9cm in diameter all the way down. the thing is HUGE.

I searched for the best surgeons expecting them all to say esophagectomy. But

they were all willing to try a myotomy since I had never had one. I am so glad I

had the surgery. My life has been improved 150%. I didn't realize how bad my

swallowing really was al these years. Now I drink water because I am thirsty,

not to chug to get food down! Amazing!

i wish you all the best and if you need more info, please don't hesitate to ask.

This group is seriously a life saver.

Cara

>

> hi everyone thanks for all the helpful messages... i had achalasia since i was

12 years old i am 19 now and i ignored it till recently. It got severe so i am

havving the heller tomorow. Dr. Salky in Mount Siani NY is performing the

precedure. Has anyone ever headr of him or used him? If anyone has tips or

experiences about the procedure i would love to hear. thanks so much

>

[Guest guest]

I wish you the best ! We will keep you in our prayers and do post when you

are well.

 

I can use some tips as well, I have a 16 year old son who will be going for

surgery with

 

Dr.Dempsey at Temple University in July.  Surely make sure to remember to take

the pillow.

 

All the best!

Priti

From: jennygluck <jennygluck@...>

Subject: heller myotomy tomorow

achalasia

Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 1:58 PM

 

hi everyone thanks for all the helpful messages... i had achalasia since i was

12 years old i am 19 now and i ignored it till recently. It got severe so i am

havving the heller tomorow. Dr. Salky in Mount Siani NY is performing the

precedure. Has anyone ever headr of him or used him? If anyone has tips or

experiences about the procedure i would love to hear. thanks so much

[Guest guest]

Cara wrote:

>

> I searched for the best surgeons expecting them all to say

> esophagectomy. But they were all willing to try a myotomy since I had

> never had one.

>

I was telling someone in a private message today, from memory, that you

had a myotomy redo and that only Dr. Luketich wanted to do the redo

instead of the esophagectomy. So, I you get some other confused person

asking about that you know how it happened.

FYI: (for any one), as I told that person today I give private

messages from the group a low priority (for a number of reasons) and

with the other e-mail I have I may not even get to them. A lot of them I

enjoy very much and I don't mind receiving them but people should

understand that I don't guarantee a response, or my best effort if I do.

notan

[Guest guest]

 

I am feeling very confused if I did pick the best surgeon-Dr Dempsey for my 16

year old and how to even evaluate which one of the doctors will be the best for

him. 

 

I am having second thoughts. 

 

Cara,

Going through your past posts I noticed earlier you were thinking of having your

surgery with Dr. Rice but then what changed your mind to go to Dr. Luketich. 

Did you speak or contact Dr. Marco Patti as well.. what made you decide and go

with Dr. Luketich

 

Priti

From: spotoca <cspoto@...>

Subject: Re: heller myotomy tomorow

achalasia

Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 4:36 PM

 

,

I am from NY and I was supposed to havy my myotomy with Dr. Salky back in 2004.

I chose not to do anything about it and just go on with life. Probably not the

best choice but it doesn't matter now.

Dr. Salky is one of the best in NYC so you should feel that you are in good

hands.

As far as the myotomy goes, I wound up having mine last October of 2010 in

Pittsburgh with Dr. Luketich. I live in Atlanta now so I had to fly up there.

I went in on Tuesday for a consult and prep (drinking that Golytly drink to

clear out the digestive system). Wednesday morning I had surgery at 7am. It

lasted for 2.5 hours. He went in through my belly button and made 4 other little

incisions. I was given a Heller myotomy with a very floppy Dor fundoplication.

Recovery was uncomfortable it was hard to breathe at first. It hurt but the pain

meds helped with that. I had nothing by mouth that day, maybe I had water. On

Thursday I was given clear liquids and another barium swallow test to check for

leaks. All good there.

Take a pillow from home with you to press on your abdomen. It helps with pain

and also mobility. Its a must. It saved me.

Friday was more clear liquids and more walking around. I was still sore and on

pain meds but I was mobile. I flew home that afternoon.

Over the weekend I moved to full liquids which included cream soups, milk,

yogurt, puddings, purees, etc. I was off all pains meds by Monday. No lifting

anything heavier than 10lbs for 3 months.

I was on the full liquids for 10 days before I went to soft solids which

included almost all foods except for raw veggies and hard meats and breads. I

stayed on this diet for 3 months.

My scars are TINY. I swallow GREAT! Minimal reflux which I manage with a Pepsid

Prescription. The only lingering issue is IBS. it comes and goes. I thought it

was triggered by dairy and sweets but now I think it has a mind of its own. This

does not happen to everyone but I will say that it may take a while for your

bowels to adjust after this surgery so just be patient with your body.

As for me, I was 17 when I started having symptoms. I ignored them for 5 years

until I could no longer swallow water. I had a baloon dilitation when I was 21

almost 22 (1996) and I was relieved of my symptoms. I was told I was cured.

In 2004, i decided to have an endoscopy just to see how things looked down

there. I was swalloing well - or so I thought. My GI at the time (Dr. Yaffe in

NYC) told me to see Dr. Salky and get a myotomy. I chose not to.

Instead I lived with power chugging water to get food down. I got married, moved

to ATL and had twin boys. By 2010 things were getting wierd. Soemtimes my

esophagus would fill up with food and I would feel like I was suffocating. i

couldn't breathe or regurgitate to get the food out. It was so scary.

i decided in June to go for a barium swallow and that is when I found out that

my esophagus is Mega/sigmoid/end stage. Its 10.5cm in diameter at its largest

point but its about 9cm in diameter all the way down. the thing is HUGE.

I searched for the best surgeons expecting them all to say esophagectomy. But

they were all willing to try a myotomy since I had never had one. I am so glad I

had the surgery. My life has been improved 150%. I didn't realize how bad my

swallowing really was al these years. Now I drink water because I am thirsty,

not to chug to get food down! Amazing!

i wish you all the best and if you need more info, please don't hesitate to ask.

This group is seriously a life saver.

Cara

>

> hi everyone thanks for all the helpful messages... i had achalasia since i was

12 years old i am 19 now and i ignored it till recently. It got severe so i am

havving the heller tomorow. Dr. Salky in Mount Siani NY is performing the

precedure. Has anyone ever headr of him or used him? If anyone has tips or

experiences about the procedure i would love to hear. thanks so much

>

[Guest guest]

Priti,

There was nothing concrete that I could base my decision on. It was intuition

and quite frankly God. I just had a nagging feeling that things were not going

to be the best they could be with dr. rice. He rubbed me the wrong way. However,

many other people in this group have gone to him and have raving reviews. I am

sure his skill is just as good as dr. Luketich but for some reason I clicked

with dr. L a little more and I felt like he totally understood my situation.

It's a very subjective thing and I am thankful I got to consult with more than

one surgeon. I emailed dr. Patti and he was great but I never went to Chicago to

see him. If I still had reservations about dr. L maybe I would have gone.

So to answer your question, it depends on you. Everyone is different and will

feel comfortable with some rather then others. It's a personal decision. I

would, however, listen to your intuition and seek another opinion if that is

what you feel you need to do.

All the best

Cara

> >

> > hi everyone thanks for all the helpful messages... i had achalasia since i

was 12 years old i am 19 now and i ignored it till recently. It got severe so i

am havving the heller tomorow. Dr. Salky in Mount Siani NY is performing the

precedure. Has anyone ever headr of him or used him? If anyone has tips or

experiences about the procedure i would love to hear. thanks so much

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Cara, I will have to decide soon.  1st need to decide on the doctor and

then work it out with the insurance.  Does Insurance usually give hard time

when you want to see a doctor that is not in your network.  Any experience with

dealing with insurance on it.

From: spotoca <cspoto@...>

Subject: Re: heller myotomy tomorow

achalasia

Date: Friday, May 20, 2011, 2:16 PM

 

Priti,

There was nothing concrete that I could base my decision on. It was intuition

and quite frankly God. I just had a nagging feeling that things were not going

to be the best they could be with dr. rice. He rubbed me the wrong way. However,

many other people in this group have gone to him and have raving reviews. I am

sure his skill is just as good as dr. Luketich but for some reason I clicked

with dr. L a little more and I felt like he totally understood my situation.

It's a very subjective thing and I am thankful I got to consult with more than

one surgeon. I emailed dr. Patti and he was great but I never went to Chicago to

see him. If I still had reservations about dr. L maybe I would have gone.

So to answer your question, it depends on you. Everyone is different and will

feel comfortable with some rather then others. It's a personal decision. I

would, however, listen to your intuition and seek another opinion if that is

what you feel you need to do.

All the best

Cara

> >

> > hi everyone thanks for all the helpful messages... i had achalasia since i

was 12 years old i am 19 now and i ignored it till recently. It got severe so i

am havving the heller tomorow. Dr. Salky in Mount Siani NY is performing the

precedure. Has anyone ever headr of him or used him? If anyone has tips or

experiences about the procedure i would love to hear. thanks so much

> >

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