Your esophagus is a tube that moves food from your throat to your stomach. You had surgery to remove part, or all, of your esophagus. The remaining part of your esophagus was reconnected to your stomach.
You will probably have a feeding tube for 1 to 2 months after surgery. This will help you get enough calories so that you start to gain weight. You will also be on a special diet when you first get home.
You may be using a feeding tube when you go home. You will probably use it only at nighttime. The feeding tube will not interfere with your normal daytime activities.
You may have diarrhea when you are using a feeding tube, or even when you start eating regular foods again.
What you should be eating:
Drink fluids 30 minutes after you eat solid food, and take 30 - 60 minutes to finish a drink.
Sit in a chair when you eat or drink. Do not eat or drink when you are lying down. Stand or sit upright for 1 hour after eating or drinking anything because gravity helps your food move downward.
Eat small meals.
Esophagectomy - diet; Post-esophagectomy diet
Maish M. Esophagus. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 41.
Updated by: Shabir Bhimji, MD, PhD, Specializing in General Surgery, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland, TX. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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