My mother just had a pacemaker put in about 2.5 weeks ago. She can eat salads and yogurt fine but had trouble eating the gnocchi we had for dinner tonight. She is 86 yrs old and in pretty good health otherwise. She can also eat soup fine. What could be causing her to feel like the food gets stuck?
Hello and thank you for using Healthcare magic. I reviewed your question and the information you provided very carefully. There are many complications related RO pacemaker implantation but not being able to swallow solid foods is not one of them. 2.5 weeks is a solid time to recover from pacemaker implantation. Most common side effect include wound infection, pneumothorax, hemothorax, hematoma and so. As for your problem, try to give her semi-solid foods an boiled food which are eastern masticate and swallow. You can get her checked up by a gastroenterologist. Maybe even do a barium swallowing x-ray exam to see with x-rays how she cases the contrast throughout esophagus. If needed, a fire oesophago-gastroscopy can be performed. Have a wonderful time ahead. Hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if you have any further clinical concerns or doubts. I will be more than happy to get back to you in no time. If satisfied here, please give a generous five-star rating and don't forget to close the discussion.