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Nissen Fundoplication Voice Complications
I had a Nissen Fundoplication about 2 months ago and I'm experiencing problems with my voice. My throat feels kinked, and I can feel my vocal chords strain when I speak. When I sing my chords strain, my range is SHOT, and I can feel that the vocal chords are not moving. Is this normal? Will it subside? What can I do to help this??? I am missing out on a big part of my life that I MISS HORRIBLY.
Cbovrun, any updates? Please let me know. I'm a singer myself and I'm thinking about surgery. I have LPR.
Cbovrun, any updates? Please let me know. I'm a singer myself and I'm thinking about surgery. I have LPR.
No harm done :) sometimes wish I went to Medical school or married a Doctor :0 lol.
I feel your frustration when it come to the singing. I won a few competitions in the past and my issues also started almost over night... I still won a competition the March and then the April I could not sing anymore? still don't know if I am on the right track, but ENT/Otolaryngologist seems to have striked something and I am trying anything at this point just to feel "normal" again...
I am now almost 7 months post op after Nissen and no improvement. w.r.t. voice..Surgeon is happy that Nissen has been done as I have Barrets and I am still in my 30's but I just want my life back and my voice to be normal and I am still hoping Botillium injection would improve my symptoms...
My GP adviced me to see a Speech Pathologist but I never went for it. Maybe you could try it in the meantime?
I feel your frustration when it come to the singing. I won a few competitions in the past and my issues also started almost over night... I still won a competition the March and then the April I could not sing anymore? still don't know if I am on the right track, but ENT/Otolaryngologist seems to have striked something and I am trying anything at this point just to feel "normal" again...
I am now almost 7 months post op after Nissen and no improvement. w.r.t. voice..Surgeon is happy that Nissen has been done as I have Barrets and I am still in my 30's but I just want my life back and my voice to be normal and I am still hoping Botillium injection would improve my symptoms...
My GP adviced me to see a Speech Pathologist but I never went for it. Maybe you could try it in the meantime?
NEVER MIND, Smiley2000.
I apparently can't read AT ALL. I somehow missed the part of your post where after your NF, you found and are being treated for another throat problem that could be related.
I am SO SORRY I didn't read the whole post. I must have gotten distracted because I read the first paragraph, 2nd, 4th, and the last sentence, but completely missed paragraph 3.
I think yours and Flycaster305's comments are the most helpful. Since this wasn't a problem beforehand, I need to remember I just had surgery and I might need time, and if after a reasonable amount of time I still have these symptoms, I should do as you say and find a good ENT.
Thank you again, and I'm sorry for that probably Freudian slip of the attention span.
I apparently can't read AT ALL. I somehow missed the part of your post where after your NF, you found and are being treated for another throat problem that could be related.
I am SO SORRY I didn't read the whole post. I must have gotten distracted because I read the first paragraph, 2nd, 4th, and the last sentence, but completely missed paragraph 3.
I think yours and Flycaster305's comments are the most helpful. Since this wasn't a problem beforehand, I need to remember I just had surgery and I might need time, and if after a reasonable amount of time I still have these symptoms, I should do as you say and find a good ENT.
Thank you again, and I'm sorry for that probably Freudian slip of the attention span.
Were the voice complications a RESULT of the NF in any way? My symptoms don't really seem to match your experience. You describe what sounds like a gradual degradation leading up to the NF, whereas mine was sudden and happened after the NF. The only issue I had with singing before the NF was, because my diaphragm was weakened, I couldn't support the breath for as long as I could a year prior.
I had a scope done before the surgery and they found no damage to the chords. It honestly feels like I did when I was first learning how to sing, except that it's constant and immediate. I can't get the air to resonate properly, the notes are flat as pancakes or GONE entirely, my chords always feel tight or kinked, and they are just NOT moving. I don't even feel the same "limber" sensation you get after you've practiced a bit or are just about to sing something you could sing in your sleep. The air is just not traveling through the chords the way it used to, if at all.
I had a scope done before the surgery and they found no damage to the chords. It honestly feels like I did when I was first learning how to sing, except that it's constant and immediate. I can't get the air to resonate properly, the notes are flat as pancakes or GONE entirely, my chords always feel tight or kinked, and they are just NOT moving. I don't even feel the same "limber" sensation you get after you've practiced a bit or are just about to sing something you could sing in your sleep. The air is just not traveling through the chords the way it used to, if at all.
Thank u for ur input, always helpful and I know this is an area I have no experience first hand so it is so very nice to have members offer to share there personal experiences to help the others with similar issues,
Thanks again : )
Hi there,
I had the Nissen fundo and I am also a singer... well, used to sing up and until about 3 years ago.
Long story short: I started to have issues with my voice (vocal coach and I noticed that I could not reach my usual registers) and soon after that I had chronic throat infections/pharyngitis and vocal fatigue. I had tests done to find out why. ENT did Laryngoscope and noticed that my larynx/pharynx and vocal cords were damaged by acid reflux. I went to see a GI Specialist and he did Endoscopy and diagnosed Barret's due to LES dysfunction. We immigrated and I ended up having more and more issues and eventually had my Nissen done in Feb 2012.
My voice issues did not improve. I went to see an Otolaryngologist in Australia. Latest diagnoses that explains my throat issues: chricopharengeal muscle dysfunction due to longstanding GERD. I had treatment for it last week and still change but the treatment only start working after 10 days... so still early days.
You should go to an ENT and have a Laryngoscope done. If you have polyps or the chrico muscle damage (although rare) it would explain voice issues.
Hope the info helps and keep us posted :)
I had the Nissen fundo and I am also a singer... well, used to sing up and until about 3 years ago.
Long story short: I started to have issues with my voice (vocal coach and I noticed that I could not reach my usual registers) and soon after that I had chronic throat infections/pharyngitis and vocal fatigue. I had tests done to find out why. ENT did Laryngoscope and noticed that my larynx/pharynx and vocal cords were damaged by acid reflux. I went to see a GI Specialist and he did Endoscopy and diagnosed Barret's due to LES dysfunction. We immigrated and I ended up having more and more issues and eventually had my Nissen done in Feb 2012.
My voice issues did not improve. I went to see an Otolaryngologist in Australia. Latest diagnoses that explains my throat issues: chricopharengeal muscle dysfunction due to longstanding GERD. I had treatment for it last week and still change but the treatment only start working after 10 days... so still early days.
You should go to an ENT and have a Laryngoscope done. If you have polyps or the chrico muscle damage (although rare) it would explain voice issues.
Hope the info helps and keep us posted :)
Thank you, Flycaster 305, and selmaS for your insight!
Flycaster 305, your experience was very helpful. I've never had surgery before, and even though I feel GREAT, I need to keep in mind that surgery is traumatic to the body.
slemaS, I will be talking to my doctor (hopefully soon, he's kind of popular and tends to take a month for non-emergency visits and my GP just retired, so I have to start all over with a new one about the possible after effects of the anesthesia.
Again, Thank you, both. I'll keep you posted!
Flycaster 305, your experience was very helpful. I've never had surgery before, and even though I feel GREAT, I need to keep in mind that surgery is traumatic to the body.
slemaS, I will be talking to my doctor (hopefully soon, he's kind of popular and tends to take a month for non-emergency visits and my GP just retired, so I have to start all over with a new one about the possible after effects of the anesthesia.
Again, Thank you, both. I'll keep you posted!
I had not given the intubation a thought but u r quite right, this can also cause thrush in many if they scratch u in the insertion or removal.....
Just one aspect I would not have thought of....thanks : )
I agree, anesthesia meds cause all kinds of after-effects.
Another thought... the breathing tube used during surgeries can cause all sorts of voice issues for quite awhile. When I had heart bypass surgery the breathing tube was in place quite a long time, and caused my already GERD-injured vocal chords to work poorly for some time.
Another thought... the breathing tube used during surgeries can cause all sorts of voice issues for quite awhile. When I had heart bypass surgery the breathing tube was in place quite a long time, and caused my already GERD-injured vocal chords to work poorly for some time.
I was referring to what they put u under with the anesthesia can cause a flare of GERD or reflux....and that is what I was referring to, not that drugs after as I did not have this and have no idea what would be given, I just wanted to clarify that what I was referring to was drugs used to put u under for surgery.
Also I said this did happen to me, I was told by my Dr that it is not uncommon for this to happen and why I said it could be a possibility.....never meant for it to appear that I was saying this is what it was.....
I've had the NF procedure. In my case, I didn't have any drugs other than offered pain medications, which I refused to take. I don't agree with Selma on this issue, the only drugs offered after the surgery are usually pain meds. Prior to the procedure, my vocal chords were so burned by acid reflux that my ability to speak was so difficult that I seldom talked, but after the procedure my voice is back to the point that I'm able to talk nonstop for 10 -15 minutes, but it took about six months.
I do know that surgeons use a probe to size the wrap correctly that is passed down the throat during the procedure. This could be why you are having issues with your vocal chords. I'd suggest being patient, and belive you will retain your singing ability, but you have had major surgery, and it takes time to heal. Keep us informed.
I do know that surgeons use a probe to size the wrap correctly that is passed down the throat during the procedure. This could be why you are having issues with your vocal chords. I'd suggest being patient, and belive you will retain your singing ability, but you have had major surgery, and it takes time to heal. Keep us informed.
1 Comments
hi there flycaster, are you still on this, i am desperate to discuss my similar case with you. you are the first person who has given me hope in my 3 yr struggle .please let me know asap. thank you so much
Oh, I am understanding u better now...sorry...not having had this procedure I am not familiar with the after effects.....
All I can suggest is to go have it looked at if the original Dr says there is nothing wrong go to a diff dr for another opinion,.
Best of luck
Ok. I'm not on medication, per my doctor's orders. The reflux symptoms are gone since the surgery. This isn't a soreness like with reflux; it's more mechanical. As I said, a feeling of kinked pressure in my throat, and the chords aren't moving the way they should. I am a singer, I know how this should feel, and it doesn't.
Not really as I said the drugs used during ne surgery can cause reflux to flare and u had it already...so u may have had a flare post op as a result of the meds...and if u did not continue with ur reflux meds and diet that could be the reason....and it is just one possibility as I am not a Dr, just had this happen after surgery as I know how hard those meds r on the stomach.
I would talk to ur Dr to see what they have to say.
Thank you for your help! I'm not on any medication, and the surgery was for a hiatal hernia. I have had no other reflux symptoms since the surgery, and the EGD done before the surgery saw no damage. (I made sure to ask them to look) The reflux I had before the surgery didn't effect my voice, either.
Not sure if that changes your input or not, but it's information that should be attached.
Not sure if that changes your input or not, but it's information that should be attached.
HI and welcome to the GERD forum.
Reflux can affect the vocal cords, and I am not sure it was the surgery for the hernia, but the effects of the acid reflux that was coming up and it may have caused damage.....sometimes it just takes time for this to heal. Are u still on ne meds?
As u can suffer reflux from the meds and drugs used during surgery....so , it just may be time, talk with ur surgeon and see what he/she has to say/
Good luck
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