Dilated esophagus and achalsia after lap band surgery

by Julie
(Washington State)

I was recently hospitalized for aspiration pneumonia. They thought it was related to the lap band, so they took it out. The GI doctor did and EGD and said I have a dilated esophagus and achalasia, and I am seeing him Monday to follow up.

I am wondering what to expect. Will this go away now that the band is out?

The docs said the band placement was fine and I had no fill for years. I believe the problem was not the result of a too tight band, rather a reaction to the band itself since the esophageal spasms started within the few months of band placement, before I had a fill. At the time I thought it was just normal and just the way it felt to have a band.

Comments for
Dilated esophagus and achalsia after lap band surgery

Click here to add your own comments

Achalsia NEW
by: Lap Band Groupie

First, I'm not a Dr., but I'll tell you what I can (sorry this is long, and this first paragraph is more for others who just have aspiration pneumonia, reflux, or a dilated esophagus).

Generally Banders who develop aspiration pneumonia (this can be very serious, so I'm happy you're OK) due so due to two reasons; either they have a too tight Band and the food isn't passing fast enough so they aspirate food or more commonly reflux acid back up the esophagus. This generally happens at night while they're sleeping and they wake up coughing or choking. The food or acid caused the infection/pneumonia in the lungs. Secondly, even if your Band and Stoma are placed and working properly, Banders can overfill their pouch and over time stretch the esophagus and essentially use the lower portion of their esophagus as a second pouch to hold more food. Over time this can cause the bottom sphincter of their esophagus (purpose of it is to keep food and reflux from coming back up into your esophagus) to not close properly leaving your esophagus open to reflux acid and foods that can again be regurgitated into your lungs. If caught early on, these can usually be reversed with a complete unfill and after a few months things sometimes return to normal. Any signs of reflux, choking, or coughing during the night are red flags to get to your Doc.

Now on to you. I not very familiar with achalsia (rare disease of the esophagus, failure of the esophageal sphincter to relax/pass food), but I know that many LB Docs order an upper GI before Banding to rule out any esophageal/stomach problems like this, before surgery (I haven't hear of any Doc doing a LB procedure after achalsia is diagnosed). If the sphincter isn't releasing the food into the pouch then it will stay and can get aspirated into the lungs (probably again when you lay down), which sounds like what happened to you. Since you had no fill, a defill was ruled out and their only option was to remove the Band.

I've never heard of anyone saying this disease was 'caused' by the LB, but maybe your Doc was saying what other Banders have said that the symptoms of achalsia are exasperated by having the LB, when he said you were having 'a reaction to the LB'. It therefore sounds like you may have had this problem before Banding but didn't know it/were asymptomatic and I'm hopeful for your sake that since you didn't mention having issues before Banding that everything will return to normal and your achalsia will not be an issue. If not, it doesn't 'go away', but there are other treatments for the achalsia including oral medicines, balloon dilations, surgery, and even Botox to relax the muscle.

I'd also say that I'm surprised this wasn't caught earlier as you mentioned having esophageal spasms (can be very painful and isn't normal) early on and this wasn't diagnosed for years.

I'm sure your Doc will have more detailed answers and I hope you'll recover well. Let us know how you're doing. Best Wishes!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Weight Loss Surgery Questions

Did you find this post - or Bariatric Surgery Source in general - useful?

If so, please continue to help us help you. Spread the word to your friends, family and business associates by clicking the "Like" button in the top left of this page.

For additional research, search for your topic...

Back to Bariatric Surgery Source Home Page

Disclaimer: The information contained in this web site is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not intended as nor should be relied upon as medical advice. Rather, it is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician(s). Before you use any of the information provided in the site, you should seek the advice of a qualified medical, dietary, fitness or other appropriate professional.

In the spirit of full disclosure: We proudly support this website through advertising and affiliate ("aff") marketing. In other words, when you click on a link that takes you outside of this website, we sometimes earn a small commission. These small commissions allow us to keep the site up and running and to continue offering it completely free of charge to you. Rest assured that all content, recommendations and advice are created before, and are independent of, any sponsorship or affiliate relationship. Click here for more info.

Use right scroll bar to view entire site map

Bariatric Surgery

Obesity Cause & Effect

Gastric Bypass

Adjustable Gastric Banding

Other Effective Procedures

Diet Before & After Surgery

Financing & Insurance

Life After Surgery

Risks & Challenges

Community

We Proudly Support...