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一项内窥镜治疗贲门失弛缓症的手术使玛丽安·莱瓦里奥恢复了正常饮食的能力

“我有一年半的时间无法吞咽，”玛丽安·莱瓦里奥回忆道. 莱瓦里奥是在一次失败的失贲门症手术后来到皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校健康中心的，手术导致她无法进食或饮水. “我瘦了很多，肌肉也很结实，体重降到了87磅. I was very sick and in so much pain.”

Achalasia 是一种影响食道和下食道括约肌神经和肌肉功能的疾病吗, resulting in difficulty swallowing. 对莱瓦里奥来说，失弛缓症最初表现为类似心脏病发作的症状.

“在工作中，我经历了剧烈的胸痛——疼痛从我的肩膀扩散到我的手臂——出汗，然后恶心,” she says. “症状发展到在进入胃之前，我的食道里有大量的液体和食物.”

Levario, in Central California, underwent a Heller myotomy, 减压术一种外科手术，目的是减轻对食管下括约肌紧绷的肌肉的压力，使食物和液体通过胃. It failed, however, to fix her condition.

“I became disabled to work. 我生病了，对我的身心和健康发生了什么感到困惑，”莱瓦里奥说. “I looked online for a doctor who could help me. A video of Dr. Alireza Sedarat popped up, and he described achalasia. 就好像他说的正是我正在经历的事情.”

Dr. Sedarat是皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校David Geffen医学院Vatche和Tamar Manoukian消化疾病皇冠hga025的介入内窥镜医师和助理临床医学教授.

“I met Dr. Sedarat in August of 2017,” Levario says. “He told me about the POEM procedure, which is a per-oral endoscopic myotomy. 我的保险公司认为POEM手术是实验性的，他们只给我提供了一根喂食管. I was 44 years old. I said, ‘I'm too young to live on a feeding tube.’ Dr. Sedarat甚至打电话给我保险公司的主管，向他解释POEM的程序, how many he's done, and what he expected my outcome to be.”

Dr. Sedarat于10月11日对Levario进行了POEM手术. 4, 2017.

“When I woke up after surgery, 胸口那让我难以呼吸的沉重感消失了,” Levario says. “我能吞下五个冰片，我立刻知道他帮了我. I was discharged the next afternoon.

“我在这里，我还活着，我又回来工作了，又活过来了. Sedarat. Thank You Dr. Sedarat.”

克劳德·拉加代尔和他的妻子把食管癌治疗变成了一场冒险

克劳德以为喉咙痛是因为他吃了什么东西.

“我以为是几天前吃的墨西哥卷饼上的, but the hurt wouldn’t go away,” recalls Lagardere, 78, of his experience in 2018. “I was referred to UCLA Health gastroenterologist Dr. Mark Ovsiowitz, who saw an obstruction in my esophagus.”

Suspecting cancer, Dr. Ovsiowitz referred Lagardere to Dr. Zev Wainberg她是一名肿瘤学家，也是皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校GI肿瘤学项目的联合主任. 拉加代尔被诊断为食道癌第四期，已经扩散到四个淋巴结.

“That ‘stage 4’ scares the hell out of you, 但你开始克服它，专注于治疗,” said Lagardere’s wife, Ellen. “我们开始的时候是每天两次化疗输注和服药. After three weeks, he would get another infusion. We were on that schedule (for almost six months). 我们很幸运，因为他表现出了显著的进步. 2020年的最后一次扫描没有显示出疾病的证据.”

拉加代尔说，听医生的话很重要.

“我们必须相信他们，因为他们是专家，”他说. “I feel very fortunate. I knew I was sick, but I didn’t think I was sick. 我并没有试图否认它，但我把它看作是我将要度过的另一段经历. 我每天都去上班，虽然有点累，但我认为坚持工作很重要. Psychologically, you need to be positive.

“Ellen’s been by my side the whole time. 说实话，如果她不在这里，我处理这件事的难度会大得多. 当我开始化疗时，我们就像野餐一样. We would pack a lunch and make it an outing. 如果你必须经历这段经历，它会让你对生活有很多了解. But it’s been a good experience for me."

“If you’re diagnosed with esophageal cancer, 听从医生的建议，认真完成这些项目. It’s very important,” Lagardere says. “当然，来皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校健康中心，因为在我看来，他们是最好的.”

能够吞咽而不窒息-吉列尔莫·维尔詹

“手术结束后，我只想打电话给我的医生， Priyam V. Tripathi, MD, MPH, and hug her and thank her,” exclaims Guillermo Verjan, who had been living with esophagitis for 10 years.

“You have trouble swallowing. 这很可怕，因为你出去吃饭，或者和不认识的人在一起，你会开始窒息. 我只是想控制一下，但我不知道为什么要等这么久才做完这个手术. It completely changed everything. I’m sure there are lots of people who just live with esophagitis like I did; not knowing there is a solution. And it’s an easy one. 我想我不需要再做其他手术了. The difference is amazing.”

Have no fear - Harry Corder

“If I had not had this procedure, then I would’ve had cancer of my esophagus,” believes 72-year-old Harry Corder, 他在发现自己患有巴雷特食管高度发育不良后来到皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校健康中心, 或者食道细胞的癌前病变. “Dr. V. Raman Muthusamy 解释说我需要几次射频消融治疗. 我每隔四到六个月就去做一次手术，持续了三年. It was really easy. 这是皇冠hga025大学洛杉矶分校健康中心的门诊手术，我觉得很出色. Dr. Muthusamy每次手术前都和我聊天，他的助手们都很棒. 我被监视已经两年了我所有的活组织检查都呈阴性, so I’m considered in the clear. 如果你有高度的巴雷特食管发育不良，不要害怕这个手术. Everyone associated with Dr. Muthusamy and UCLA Health were just marvelous.”