The question of whether your treatment should involve an operation will be discussed with you and will have been the subject of much discussion amongst the multi-disciplinary team.   It is increasingly likely that a course of chemotherapy takes place before an operation nowadays following research studies.    

Sometimes the recommended treatment does not involve an operation.   The OPA publish a booklet 'Swallowing - Nutrition when it's difficult' which gives advice if you have a stent (tube) fitted, if you are being treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or if you are experiencing eating problems.   There are also some recipes that patients have found useful.

Oesophagectomy

This operation involves the removal of part, or most of the oesophagus (gullet) and part of the stomach, the amount of each varying according to the position of the tumour.   The stomach is then moved to the chest and joined to the remainder of the oesophagus.   The join may be near the neck, or slightly lower.   All or part of the stomach may then remain positioned in the chest.        To help healing of the join you may be fed in hospital through a tube up the nose and into the stomach, or perhaps directly into the small intestine (the jejunum) where most of our digestion of food takes place.

Individual surgeons do adopt different techniques,  so operation marks might be different between one patient and another.

Gastrectomy

In this operation, if all of your stomach is removed (a total gastrectomy), the top part of your small bowel (the jejunum) is joined to the bottom of your gullet (oesophagus).   If only part of your stomach is removed, the small bowel is joined to the remaining part of the stomach.   This means that the food you eat will pass almost immediately from the stomach into the small bowel.   Like an oesophagectomy, you may be fed through a tube to help the operation wound heal.   In the future you are liable to need regular injections of vitamin B12 from your GP.

Ask a member of your clinical / medical team  if you need to understand your condition more clearly and you feel that more detailed understanding will help you cope better.

Keyhole Surgery

Some patients have part, or all of their operations performed by keyhole surgery, which means that you will have a smaller visible wound, and may recover more quickly, but you should also remember that, internally, your body still needs a full period of time to recover and to adjust to the new arrangement of your digestive organs.    Conventional operations may well be performed more quickly than keyhole methods.

Recovery

These are major operations, always undertaken after careful consideration and planning, and it can take some months before your digestive system settles down.   It is quicker for some patients than for others.    It will take some months before you are at your peak again and you will have 'off days' along the way.   Some patients may have courses of chemotherapy or radiotherapy after their operations. 

If you attend an OPA meeting, you will find many who are enjoying a good quality of life many years after such operations.   

The OPA issue a booklet 'A Guide to Life after Oesophageal / Gastric Surgery' that is also on the OPA website.   It has been described as a 'Bible' for those recovering from these operations.