Abdominal distention and change in stool habits are a frequent problem for patients after esophagectomy. Abdominal distention is very common, especially after eating, and in some severe cases even persistent abdominal distention may occur. The most common manifestation of change in stool habits is diarrhea, and in severe cases, even watery stools. Some patients may also be constipated or have alternating constipation and diarrhea. In general, these are all signs of postoperative gastrointestinal dysfunction. Among these manifestations, diarrhea and abdominal distension are the ones that affect patients the most. Diarrhea itself may lead to disturbance of the internal environment, mainly water and electrolytes, plus postoperative diarrhea often occurs after the patient has eaten a fatty diet, and many patients are afraid to eat casually or even to eat because of the fear of diarrhea. Bloating can also seriously affect the patient’s ability to eat, which can easily lead to severe malnutrition. And malnutrition is one of the most important factors affecting the recovery of patients after esophagectomy. To know how to face and deal with these problems, it is necessary to understand the reasons why this condition occurs. Normally, the vagus nerve is a visceral nerve involved in regulating the function of the gastrointestinal tract, and this nerve accompanies the esophagus in the lower part of the chest, which needs to be cut during the esophagectomy, so for postoperative patients, the regulation function of the vagus nerve for the gastrointestinal tract is actually missing. Therefore, due to the dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, the abdominal distention and indigestion and the change of stool habit mentioned earlier will occur. The first thing we need to understand is that this generally does not last forever, the loss of neurological function requires a period of compensation and recovery, the process is not consistent in different people, some people weeks, some people months, individual patients may last for several years, but generally can gradually recover, so do not be too nervous, and ensure nutrition at the same time, patiently wait for the recovery of gastrointestinal tract function can be, do not give Don’t put yourself under unnecessary psychological pressure. How to deal with constipation? Constipation is relatively easy to deal with. All you need to do is drink more water, eat foods high in fiber and use some stool softening medication if necessary. How to deal with bloating? Treatment options include acupuncture, Chinese medicine, western medicine (drugs that promote digestion and gastrointestinal motility such as pancreatic enzymes and Gastrodin), eating easily digestible foods, and increasing activity. However, the effectiveness of these treatments for patients with symptoms of indigestion and bloating varies greatly from individual to individual, so it may be necessary to try a variety of treatments and combine them to find the best treatment for the patient. How to deal with diarrhea? First of all, here we have to correct some misconceptions and habits. One is that many patients take antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs as soon as they have diarrhea because of their habits. In fact, this is wrong. For diarrhea after esophageal surgery, infection is not the root cause, and taking antibiotics indiscriminately will not only fail to treat diarrhea, but may also aggravate it due to dysbiosis, leading to more serious consequences. Second, many patients feel that diarrhea is actually related to eating, and the more they eat, the more they pull, especially after eating food containing fat. So they simply do not eat, or only eat vegetables and fruits and other foods that do not contain fat at all. This does not matter much in the short term, but over time, it may lead to severe malnutrition, affecting the patient’s post-operative recovery and even entering a vicious cycle. To treat diarrhea, we should pay attention to the following points: 1. Do not take antibiotics indiscriminately, and identify infectious diarrhea and this postoperative functional diarrhea. Infectious diarrhea may generally be accompanied by fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, pus and blood stools, etc., while this postoperative functional diarrhea is not accompanied by these symptoms, infectious diarrhea can take antibiotics, while this type of diarrhea does not need at all. 2, can not be diarrhea to eat or partial food. Whether or not diarrhea, things to eat or to eat, and to eat enough, eat balanced. 3, for diarrhea, it is highly recommended to use astringents such as Similac, diarrhea stop, etc. These drugs can be adjusted according to the symptoms of the drug dosage, if necessary, you can increase the amount of drugs, for most patients can play a good effect. As an aid, you can also use some drugs that regulate the function of the gastrointestinal tract, such as glutamine, gold and double diflucan and other drugs. 4, to understand the fact that this diarrhea is not a disease, not take the medicine to control it will not recur. As long as the function of the gastrointestinal tract has not returned to normal, this is always possible to re-emerge, so the use of drugs may be a relatively long-term process, until the gastrointestinal tract function recovery. In this regard, patients and family members should be adequately prepared.