Nissen Fundoplication

[rogerscamp]

My baby had a Nissen Fundoplication when he was 5 months old. He also had a g-tube placed at the same time. I've been told he will eventually be able to burp on his own again. I know this may not seem like a big deal to most people, but have you ever seen a little one retching for minutes? Can anyone offer any insight. He had the nissen because he was born with a tracheoesophageal fistula and it reoccured at 5 months. We are actually going in for another surgery near the end of the month because the fistula is still partially open.

Thank you,
Stacey

[mlangsford]

Stacey,

My so had his Nissen done at 4 months hold, he was premature and weighed 1.6lbs. He also has a g-tube. He is 4 years old now but I remember the retching and bloating and the inability to vomit, it was the worst thing ever. Thankfully Kade now burbs and vomits...but he still does not eat by mouth...I have had test done and it is still in place just loosened up enough for him to pass air, I believe it is the cause of him still having to have the g-tube for feeding. I need advice....

[rogerscamp]

Has your son even eaten orally? I keep hoping my son's g-tube will no longer be needed once his fistula is repaired. I know it may not be the case, but we are still hopeful. What does feeding a four-year-old with a g-tube look like? Right now, my son gets 130 ml every 3 hours 4x day, and then 400 ml continuously over 9 hours at night. For the past two nights I've had to cut short his nighttime feed because of abdominal bloating and I am assuming pain (as he was crying intermittently). Overall I am very happy my sweet baby can be fed safely, but it can be difficult to deal with some of the issues.

Please feel free to email me if you'd like. My address is [moderator note: e-mail address has been removed]

Blessings,
Stacey

[mlangsford]

Kade is upto 300 cc of Peptimen Jr and 4 scoops of duocal every 4 hrs. I use to feed him with a 60 cc seringe and have to pull up 4 times. In March I found out about the mini backpack that can hold a small pump and bag that you can set the volume and how fast you want him to be fed. He runs all over the place while he is being fed. It was getting really hard to have him sit still for feedings.

Anyway...we found that Kade needs to be vented before he eats...there is air in their belly before they eat. Try to vent your son..lay him flat with the venting tube and either hook the seringe to the g-tube and pull back the air or hook just the tube and if there is air it will shoot back at you. Safer to attach the 60 cc seringe and pull back because if there is a little food left it will shoot at you. Very messy. This helped 100% with the bloating...becasue they cannot burp. I even squeeze Kade's tummy to bring the air up when he is laying on my lap, just to make sure I got it all for him...

Kade puts food in his mouth but does not know how to chew..so he spits it out...he has made progress with the gagging, but needs alot of therapy. Let me know if the venting (burping for your baby) helps:)