17 year old needs esophagectomy

June 9, 2011

Our 17 year old daughter had the usual symptoms of achalasia for about 2.5 years

before she was diagnosed with achalasia in Dec. 09. Her first treatment was a

dilation then in March of 2010 she had a myotomy. From our research and

expectations from her doctors we assumed the myotomy would last 5 - 15 years.

For the first 2-3 months after the myotomy she was doing fine she could swallow

again and had gained 12 lbs. Then the typical symptoms started to return, she

has had 3 more dilations which resulted in a small tear in the esophagus. Her

condition has regressed and she went to her surgeon 3 days ago to discuss a

second myotomy, her surgeon is now convinced that the only option that will help

her situation is an esophagectomy! We knew eventually this may need to be done

but not so soon. She is a very positive kid and has handled all the pain,

treatments, tests and surgery like a trooper. Sometimes I wonder where she gets

her strength. In the past 1.5 years since her diagnosis we have been focused on

her diet and learning about the dilations and myotomy. We have not done much

research on the ectomy as we thought we would not have to face that until much

later. Her surgeon can perform the ectomy one week from now and its hard to get

our heads wrapped around it since we dont feel we know all the options. She is a

very active athletic teenager with a dream of playing university level female

hockey, a dream that is within reach for her as she has the skill plus a passion

unmatched by others. Does living with the ectomy normally inhibit intense

physical activity like sports? We know this is a big surgery with a difficult

recovery period, but it looks like there are very limited options. Any advice or

support is greatly appreciated.

Todd

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