Hi Gloria - Though I am a few months behind your husband for treatment and have only had one dilation, I wanted to let you know that the one treatment did help me (so far). My swallow test in May indicated 2 strictures in my esphogaus so we schedule a dilation. By the time I went in for the procedure, I could no longer swallow anything at all, not a drop; my guess is that the strictures bonded together to form a blockage. Before the procedure my ENT said if they were not successful with breaching the esphogaus, then we could talk about doing a 2nd attempt with one tube going down my throat and another going up from my stomach. That sounded similiar to the what Michael King described in his earlier posts. Perhaps he might be able to answer some of your questions or give an update.

I am scheduled for a 2nd dilation next week as the doctor didn't want to be too aggressive when he did break through the band of scar tissue. I am able to swallow liquids with little discomfort and some soft foods with some pain. I have been having more mucous these past few days so I don't know if the tissue is trying to close again or if it's healing in a more open manner, so Monday's procedure may give some insight.

This may not be much help, but I am happy to answer any questions.

Best,