fundo?

[Anonymous]

My son currently has an ng tube. He is 7 months 10 pounds and has a list of other medical conditions. He is experiencing a lot of reflux. He doesn’t vomit, rarely spits up but is gagging continuously. We are anxious to get the g tube because we really need to begin working on his p therapies. The doctor wants to do a fundo. At first it sounded like something that could help him but I have been reading up on it and now I am a little apprehensive. Please … give me some feedback.

Signed,

Lori (mother of Michael)

[Anonymous]

Lori, you might want to check out another website. This one is GREAT, but there are only 2 or 3 people on this site whose kids have had fundos and they don’t always visit that often.

The link is http://www.parent-2-parent.com/forum . There are sections all about the fundo decision and fundo issues. You might find it particularly helpful as many of the children on that site have special needs. There is also another site http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com . I believe they also have a section about fundo issues.

Good luck to you in your decision. God bless you and little Michael.

s&h’s mum2006-6-21 21:30:1

[Anonymous]

my daughter has had a fundo. a g-tube can make reflux worse if a fundo is not done at the same time because the g-tube can increase the pressure in the stomach. sylvia has not had any complications from her fundo. she had a hiatal hernia—-but we did not know this until they went in to do her fundo. her reflux was uncontrollable, she had a high % of reflux and her esophagus was ulcerated.

i have been to the site that lori refers to, but be warned that alot of the mothers on that site have children with complications from fundos—–the people with successful fundos have no reason to be on the board because they are not having trouble.

[Anonymous]

Hi Lori,

we were sent to a doc to get a consult on having a fundo….turned out we didn’t do one. BUT, our ped gi and the surgeon were very positive about the benefits from a fundo if you have a child slow to gain and with serious enough test results, etc. Our surgeon said that 90% of the fundo surgeries are successful–resulting in healthier kids and reversal of reflux, yet the 10% that aren’t often have other complications. Those were his words, not mine. He warned against doing the surgery unless it was a last resort. In our case, our son was gaining weight well and did not have other complicating health factors (except for general misery and inability to sleep!) and we opted to wait it out. We’re still dealing with reflux, but I’m glad we opted to wait, we’ve discovered some of his reflux could be from food allergies and intolerances that we were unaware of at the time of our surgery consult. So, I just thought I would give you our version of what happened with the surgeon. I hope for your sake it becomes an answer to prayer and is successful if you decide to go for it.

Oh, and I also went to that other website and asked a few questions, but also got a little spooked from all the very serious medical complications that most of hte kids on that site experience. Just remind yourself, like Christine said, the parents of kids with successful fundos with no problems usually don’t go writing about it on-line for years after.

[Anonymous]

Hi Lori

Again, we do not have the fundo experience BUT in my opinion, 10% is pretty high a risk when you are not sure that it is needed. Some babies need it for sure and it is a lifesaver for them but please request the tests. I know that the other website is spooky but i strongly recommend it because it is full of moms of special needs kids (i consider Matthew to be special needs because he has the tube and therefore will not eat like a normal kid and has to be plugges to a pump etc) and in reading your story, it may be hepful to understand what can possibly be causing the reflux or even tryinng to differentiate between different problems.

Matthew has a Gtube with no fundo and there are kids that have done well that way – his reflux was bad for a few days after surgery but as with anything, any pain aggravates reflux. But he is doing well and we will take another look at his esophagus in 3 months when we switch to a botton.

Matthew continually gags and it is not reflux,… any texture he does not like, anything he licks (spelling?) any crumb that he picks up anything makes him gag and vomit and we were told that was just a result of his reflux but that is not something that a fundo would change.

Sorry, just wanted to give you my opinion. Hope Michael is doing well and please keep us updated.

[Anonymous]

Lori,

After reading Thais’ post, I just wanted to add I would not even consider a fundo without testing first. Lucas had both an endoscopy and ph probe test done and the results will tell you a lot about your baby’s reflux patterns, etc. I highly recommend having these tests done if possible before you do a fundo. These tests are well worth the risks and trouble if you are considering this serious level surgery. Lucas also had an upper gi, but I felt hte results of that didn’t really make a difference in terms of his meds, treatment, or diagnosis.

Good luck with all these serious decisions…

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