Gastrectomy is a surgical procedure performed to remove some or all of the patient’s stomach. Three main kinds of gastrectomy exist. First, partial gastrectomy. If the surgeons remove only part of the stomach, it is called a…

I inherited my mother’s sense of humor. I inherited her love for healthcare, as we are both nurses. I inherited her love for running. She is an impressive 20-time marathon runner. I have just five under my…

A CDH1 gene mutation runs in my family. We discovered it because my mom was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Subsequent genetic testing confirmed she inherited from her father a CDH1 gene mutation that is associated with stomach…

Did you know that without a stomach you cannot properly absorb naturally occurring iron?  Maintaining proper iron levels is very important. Therefore, iron supplements become a necessity to avoid becoming anemic. Iron is essential for blood production,…

Prophylactic total gastrectomy. After deciding whether to have one, you will need to decide when to have it. For many medical conditions, a sense of urgency for surgery exists because of existing symptoms. In those instances, the…

Living without a stomach is not always easy, but it is easier than you may think. Generally, I eat whatever I want. Though I tend to focus on foods that are easy to digest, calorie dense, and…

If you have no stomach, nutrition is compromised, right? Gastrectomy patients often worry about diet and nutrition following removal of a portion of – or the entire stomach – due to cancer or other disease process, as…

Total gastrectomy is a modern development in medicine. From 2005 to 2018, several centers have studies outcomes of this procedure. Below, details of the studies are listed for comparison. At the end, I’ve included a table with…

How do you live without a stomach? People ask me this almost every time I tell them I don’t have a stomach. Frankly, I usually don’t know how to answer this question. That’s because I don’t know…

Total gastrectomy surgery can sound like a crazy recommendation. When I first heard that I might need to have my stomach removed, my first thought was “no way.” That’s crazy. Now that I have had one, I…