I've moved this continuation out of PreSurgery, because I don't want people to feel that this is an inevitable result of intubation. It only happens to some of us, and the sercentage doesn't seem to be that high.
And I absolutely don't want people to be afraid of the breathing tube, because they shouldn't be. It works: and everyone who's been through this surgery and is now posting on this site is a testament to that.
...But I still want to talk about the sometimes issue of larynx damage.
Another consideration regarding such damage: A number of people who have had this issue were told later that it was a result of gastroesophogeal reflux (acid reflux disease). For them, it occured beginning with or just after the surgery, and many of them don't recall having that before OHS.
What if that specific type of the problem is actually attributable to the poking about of the TEE in the esophagus at a point where the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which keeps stomach acids and contents out of the more vulnerable esophagus and throat, is out for the count, under heavy sedation?
In some patients (perhaps all to some extent), stomach acid may already have leaked past the LES. The esophagus would be irritated by the poking about and manipulation of the transponder, and may have had some of its protective lubrication wiped away by the activity. The TEE probe may actually act as an inefficient pump, if being adjusted up and down for a better picture. The leaked stomach acid would burn the esophagus, creating the reflux appearance. Then some acid may be drawn up by the retracting TEE transponder, and follow the breathing tube down to the larynx, where it could sit for quite some time while the surgery is done.
It's plausible.
Best wishes,
And I absolutely don't want people to be afraid of the breathing tube, because they shouldn't be. It works: and everyone who's been through this surgery and is now posting on this site is a testament to that.
...But I still want to talk about the sometimes issue of larynx damage.
Another consideration regarding such damage: A number of people who have had this issue were told later that it was a result of gastroesophogeal reflux (acid reflux disease). For them, it occured beginning with or just after the surgery, and many of them don't recall having that before OHS.
What if that specific type of the problem is actually attributable to the poking about of the TEE in the esophagus at a point where the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which keeps stomach acids and contents out of the more vulnerable esophagus and throat, is out for the count, under heavy sedation?
In some patients (perhaps all to some extent), stomach acid may already have leaked past the LES. The esophagus would be irritated by the poking about and manipulation of the transponder, and may have had some of its protective lubrication wiped away by the activity. The TEE probe may actually act as an inefficient pump, if being adjusted up and down for a better picture. The leaked stomach acid would burn the esophagus, creating the reflux appearance. Then some acid may be drawn up by the retracting TEE transponder, and follow the breathing tube down to the larynx, where it could sit for quite some time while the surgery is done.
It's plausible.
Best wishes,
I think I'm going to go have a scope done, I hate it when they don't check into the causes!
