chest pain after Nissen Fundoplication

[manicmechanic]

Hey all, its my first post here and i'm hoping someone can offer some kind of help...a little background, i've been living with GERD since I was about 10 (now 28) and finally, on February 13th of this year, I had the Nissen Fundoplication.  Just prior to the NF, I was having chest pain so bad I had to wake up hours early so I could stand up straight by time for work...

Well, now I have no acid reflux, I do have 10 ulcers from acid damage over the years and esophagitis in a section of my esophagus...but now the chest pain is back and slowly but surely getting worse.  I talked back to the doctor who did it and he checked for hernias and basically told me it was normal...if this is gonna be normal i'm in trouble...cause today has been bad...it is so painful in the right quadrant of my chest...movement, deep breaths...everything hurts it.  

What can I do?  How can I convince a doctor to do the right thing to fix it?  Thanks in advance everyone!

[Smiley2000]

Hi there,

I had my Nissen done on the 8th and post-op I still had some issues with shoulder pains for about 2 months, but no chest pains.

I used to get those type of pains you are describing and it was all due to some very badly injured neck-disks.  So I ended up having a Neck-fusion (Foramentectomy) and now have titanium disks for C5-6-7 and no more pains there either.

I think you should get it checked out by a Physio and if he does not think it is related, then you should go and see an Internist and get it checked out and diagnosed.

[manicmechanic]

Thanks man...yea, I don't think the surgery caused it, I just thought the surgery would fix it...I thought the hiatal hernia was the source of the pain...just kinda disappointed that it didn't fix it.  the pain radiated into my right shoulder last night...never did that before.  I don't think its my heart, but i'm sure the doctor will run yet another scan on it, lol.  Any way, thanks a lot for your input...I hope I can get this pain down to a manageable level...

[Flycaster305]

The fact that your chest pain preceded your surgery suggests nothing during the surgery caused you issues, and typically angina from heart issues affects the center or left quadrant.  I'd certainly ask that you have your heart health checked.  I've had both the NF, successfully as you report as well but also have had long time heart problems.  If the chest pains are sharp, usually those are arthritis type issues, dull aches that tend to migrate from right to left are more often angina issues.  Does Advil or similar drugs relieve the pain?  A simple way to determine if angina is an issue is to ask for Nitro pills... if the nitro pill makes the chest pain go away, that's a huge clue your heart is involved.
Keep us informed.