Because she was born early (and maybe other factors), Seraph has GERD. The valve between her throat and her stomach is weak. She often spits up stomach acid.The Nissen is a surgical correction for GERD. They take the stomach and wrap it around the bottom of the esophagus. Then they stitch it into place. This wrap puts pressure on the esophagus so that liquids from the stomach don't go back up her throat. When she swallows, her food will be able to go into her stomach but it won't come back up.
Currently, all of Seraph's foods and medicines go through a tube in her nose directly into her small intestine. After the nissan, she'll be able to start learning how to eat normally :). Her mouth won't be so dry all the time. Her lips won't be chapped from the acid. She'll be more comfortable. Her risk of choking on the reflux will go down.
We're very excited for this surgery (scheduled for June 2nd).
They'll make 5 small openings (about 1/4 inch long) to do the surgery. We expect her to be in the hospital less than 2 weeks.
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