hi Vin,

>I would like to hear from other members of the forum as to their experience with dilations of the esophagus. How many times it was done, side-effects, and their overall experince with being able to eat solid foods followng the dilations.


i've had
2 stretches, at 1 yr from treatment.
1 stretch,two years later.

i have moderate throat pain for about 2 wks after each proceedure. the inpromvement in swallowing is great and i eat much better. the dilations get me to about 45 mm. 50 mm is considered average.

the doc told me that the success and how long it lasts is a function of where the scar tissue is. sometimes its on the inside and other times its on the outside of the esophagus. i have scarring where the dilation results are more long lasting.

hopefully your spouse will get some better results that what has been obtained to so far.

cu,
larryb

'01 diagnosis.. jaw hing and base of tongue. surgery not possible. JHU used radiation and chemo to seemingly rid me of the beast. peg for about 19 months. 100 cases of 24 cans of liquid food. 9 months eating therapy. 3x esophagus stretches. non-smoker. previously a social drinker.