Was I deceived? : (

I had my BPD-DS in 2004.  I received a 80 cc and 224 al. limb.  I had the left side lateral gastrectomy.  I have ever since had a few not-ordinary DS events.  I have dealt with bad constipation, and food takes really too long to move through me.  My surgeon retired and my ins. had no one who would follow DS patients.  So for several years my PCP and Gastro followed me.  The tummy problems got a little worse.  A dear DS sister recommeded a local gastro who is well thought of and knowledable about the DS.  I saw him and he ordered an Upper GI with small bowel follow through, a gastric emptying test, a esophageal manomety (sp?) and upper endoscopy.

The tests confrmed that motility is very, very low.  But...here is what is freaking me out...this gastro said I have a regular large stomach that has NOT but laterally cut.  He says about 2/3 of the way down the stomach a 'man-made' devise...ring of some kind, was put around the stomach to constrict.  I said What?  Could my tummy have just expanded over time?  Could whatever is constrictng my tummy be a natural event of some sort?  He said no to both.  He showed me the pictures of my tummy, and the very small hole food has to pass through.

I do not want to get ahead of myself, but I am really worried.  I found all the reports from my surgery and read them all.  It DOES say left side gastrectomy, and ds.  There is NO mention of any man-made devise put around my tummy.


My kids are FURIOUS.  This Dr. will be continuing to figure this out with me.  (I also had a bleeding gastric polyp he biopsied.)

Any thoughts???  I am just feeling awful tonight.  would anyone say they are doing a certain surgery...even write legal documents stating such but do a gastric band or ???

I would appreciate any help, thoughts...

Juney

I'd be talking to a lawyer...

I agree. Get a lawyer. And I wonder just what your intestinal configuration really is too!

OMG this is so sad. I can't comprehend how you must be feeling. I think this kind of stuff happens more than we can ever know and I don't mean just with the DS surgery. When I read about people having regain, or never getting even close to goal and doing every thing by the book, I often wonder if this is not the case too. I do think you need to see a lawyer, but right now just get in the right mind set that this might be a long road ahead of you with all the testing and stuff and then to fix it. Take one day at a time, and then when you have the time Sue the pants off them. Karen

doesnt it sound like maybe he gave you a lapband and that it just worked its way down? I'd be trying to find the other patients of that surgeon and have them also go to their PCPs and get checked out and perhaps a class action suit would be appropriate . .?? what a nightmare!

OMG, I am sorry you have to face this.  Does it seem that he did the intestinal switch part of the DS?  Do you have the malabsorption?  The talk of the ring device sounds like a vertical banded gastroplasty to me.(?)  Did you lose well?

Edited to add:  I just went to your profile and read there (I haven't read it all, just read some), so that answered part of it.  Your good loss and metabolic improvements sound like you got at least the intestinal switch.  This is so very puzzling.

Edited again to add:  Think about it for a while before seeking legal action.  There are already so many doctors reluctant to take on people with poorly-paying insurance such as Medicare, that if they know you have made a formal complaint or lawsuit against another doctor, they sometimes refuse to see you.  I read about a man in my state who was disabled and had Medicaid, and made a complaint about a doctor who accepted his Medicaid, then could not get any providers to see him in his city. :(

" Think about it for a while before seeking legal action.  There are already so many doctors reluctant to take on people with poorly-paying insurance such as Medicare, that if they know you have made a formal complaint or lawsuit against another doctor, they sometimes refuse to see you."

In other words, sue the **** out of that first doctor AFTER you've had this fixed! :D

The OHSU group (Deveney, McConnell, Patterson) has always had way more issues with the DS than other groups.  Many complaints about substandard results and care.  It does not shock me completely (though I am of course shocked) that your surgery may have been improper.  You need to find out what was done to you, and to SUE if it was not what you had agreed to -- that is an assault and battery to perform a different surgery than you had agreed to, as well as fraud if he lied on the op report and to the insurance company.

Dr. Sifers in KS told people he was giving them a DS when he was giving them BPDs.  He was sued by a number of patients before he died.

Left side gastrectomy?  Sounds like a BPD -- do you still have a pyloric valve?

 Ditto, ditto, ditto!  Not just malpractice in this case...  You REALLY need to track down exactly what your configuration is (have surgery if need be), get documented (hell, get pictures) and put together a STRONG case.  This behavior from a Dr is so abysmal, but unfortunately more common than most know.  I am SO sorry you are going through this!  This type of thing REALLY burns me up...  WTH is the point of the Hippocratic Oath if you refuse to adhere to it?!  Argh...  Makes EVERY Dr look bad!  Please don't let this rest, you deserve to have this righted and should NEVER have had to go through this!

Diana,

If the state of Oregon has a 2 year malpractice statute of limitations, would that apply in this case?  I would think not, but....?

The first, last and only time I sued a Dr. was years ago.

Michele