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What Causes Severe Spasms In The Right Rib Cage?
Question: Hi, I have been having spasms where my esophagus meets my stomach (right under my rib cage). Along with this has come reflux. The reflux is always at it's worst after the spasms and it gets better when the spasms subside for a few days. I had a endoscopy and it was normal and I just had a ct scan (I have not received the results yet). My "worry" is that I have a sliding hiatal hernia and the day I had the CT scan was one of my good non-spastic days. I am wondering if the scan will show a damaged hiatus even if the stomach was not pushing through that day?
Brief Answer:
CT scan detect damage to hiatus
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
1) Your symptoms are consistent with GERD, i.e. upward entry of gastric content into esophagus due to lax junction of esophagus and stomach. Most common cause for this is hiatus hernia
2) GERD cause changes in inner wall of lower esophagus due to chemical reaction of gastric content (oesophagitis)
3) If your upper GI endoscopy did not reveal these changes of GERD then it is unlikely to have hiatus hernia
4) CT scan of chest+abdomen can detect hiatus hernia with sliding of upper part of stomach into chest. But if, stomach is not pushed into chest then it is not considered to have hiatus hernia.
5) Yes if there will be any damage to hiatus from trauma or other reason, CT scan will detect it, but in presence of any damage there should be herniation of stomach.
CT scan detect damage to hiatus
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
1) Your symptoms are consistent with GERD, i.e. upward entry of gastric content into esophagus due to lax junction of esophagus and stomach. Most common cause for this is hiatus hernia
2) GERD cause changes in inner wall of lower esophagus due to chemical reaction of gastric content (oesophagitis)
3) If your upper GI endoscopy did not reveal these changes of GERD then it is unlikely to have hiatus hernia
4) CT scan of chest+abdomen can detect hiatus hernia with sliding of upper part of stomach into chest. But if, stomach is not pushed into chest then it is not considered to have hiatus hernia.
5) Yes if there will be any damage to hiatus from trauma or other reason, CT scan will detect it, but in presence of any damage there should be herniation of stomach.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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