Achalasia has the potential to cost the healthcare system a lot of money. There is no cure for Achalasia, therefore this is something that needs to be treated, sometimes as often as every 3 months (Dugdale, George & Zieve, 2010). When my mother has the surgery to stretch her esophageal sphincter, the average cost of her surgery ranges from $1,900 to $3,000, depending on anesthetics and whether or not they need to suck out food that is stuck in the esophagus. Insurance pays the majority of the cost
A hiatal hernia is a condition where the stomach moves upward into the thoracic cavity. The esophagus joins the stomach just past the opening in the diaphragm. In some instances the stomach can move up through that same opening and become a hiatal hernia. “Pat” is a thirty-five year old female that has come to a hospital because she has had reflux problems recently. Like many hiatal hernias Pats' was discovered after a regular visit to the doctor. From that point, any of the following would be
The Oesophagus The oesophagus (gullet) is the tube through which food and drink pass from the back of the throat to the stomach. It lies in the back of the chest just in front of the spine. The outer muscular layers of the oesophagus move fluid or food towards the stomach. At the lower end there is a muscular valve which prevents stomach acid from entering the gullet from below. The cancer arises
Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is the portal through which nutritive substances; vitamins, minerals and fluids enter the body. The digestive tract is more than 10 metres long from one end to the other. It is continuous starting from the mouth, passing through the pharynx and the oesophagus, to the stomach, the small and large intestines, ending in the rectum, and finally into the anus. The GI tract is divided into two main sections: the upper GI tract and the lower GI tract. Upper GIT includes the