Sis-in-law had to have hers done a couple of times when she was in college. At that point in time they blamed the condition on stress. She got along fine, and I don't think she's had to have it done since. She's a grandma now, so not much on long term issues. As noted by another poster, hers wasn't really surgery, just sedated and passed an instrument thru her esophagus to allow more room.....no incision.