Thanks again to all who responded. I was doing some research on the web, and according to some info. I found, sometimes an Esophageal dilation causes a swallowing dysfunction caused by a narrowing of the esophagus. Funny, because I always thought the doctor was "stretching" it. But this is all so confusing to me - so I don't really know. Also, according to an on-line specialist ENT doctor, he believes all this swelling is due moreso from the radiation than from the surgery. Also, this specialist said because of the lack of saliva in the mouth, and thus the thick mucus the body produces from not having as much saliva...one should stay away from drinking coffee and tea regularily, because they will dehydrate a person quick! And if a person has a problem with acid reflux - that needs to be treated because this makes swallowing worse. The acid in the stomach can irritate the throat and esophagus. So I think on my husband's next dr's appt. - he is going to look into getting a "swallowing study" done - because even though I can understand some aspiration after surgery - this is kind of ridiculous in what he has to go through, just to get a little bit of food/liquid down - not even counting the numerous pills he takes every day.