Liver issues

Hi!! Has anyone had any liver problems post WLS? I was diagnosed with a mass on my liver reciently. I met with a surgeon and he feels I need to have the left lobe of my liver removed because of the mass. He strongly feels it is a hepatic adenoma. It does cause some pain currently. I am just trying to find out if anyone has gone through this and any info I can gather would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Chryssie

Hi Chryssie. I'm so sorry that you're having this probelm! Please be sure to have a conversation with your WLS surgeon and make sure you get a good 2nd opinion before you decide how to move forward. Surgeons often vary widely in the treatment they recommend. I personally do not know anyone who I can refer you to that is having liver troubles post WLS- but I wanted to let you know that I feel for ya' and wish you the best possible outcome. Lisa C

HI I would definately get a second opinion, even a third if it would make you feel completely sure this is what is going on. Liver surgery is a huge deal and I would definately check with other Drs. The nice thing about your liver though is that your liver will regenerate what it loses with time. That's why you can donate parts of your liver and not have problems. Besides its a HUGE organ. I would also get online and do some research. Check webmd, national institutes of health, sloan-kettereing, merck manual,etc. See what you can find out about the condition in general. Remember, knowledge is power and the more that you can contribute to your own care the better. Also, remember you have to right to have acess to all of your tests, records, imaging,etc. Get them. That way if you go for another opinion you don't have to wait for the hospital, Dr to get around to faxing the info to the other Dr. ( I found out how screwed up that can get) Good luck and please keep us updated!!!! I'll add you to my prayers. Brightest Blessings Heather

A friend of mine had problems with her liver post-op. She apparently had an enlarged liver and has fatty deposits around her liver. A fatty liver she called it. They are monitoring her but not doing any surgery. Since losing a lot of weight her liver has shrunken back down, but it's still surrounded by fatty deposits. I would get a second opinion if you could Erin 277/174/165

Hi, I am only 28( and what a full 28 years it has been keep reading... At age 24 during emergency gallbladder surgery in July of 2000, they found a huge mass on my liver. They would not touch it at the time, but I ended up having it removed that October. It was dx as "focal nodular hyperplasia" which is a fancy way of saying "unknown benign liver tumor". A margin of my liver lobe was removed. I have surgical clips in that will just stay there forever. The liver is the only organ that regenerates itself as well. It will grow back. If you would like any info about my surgeon Dr. Ronald Salem at Yale (He was fantastic) please e-mail me and I would be happy to talk to you about all this. I had my WLS May 2004. Took a long time to do lap. due to all my prior adhesions. I think it was like 6-8 hours, but I did Ok with it. Only problems were an ulcer and fistula which appear to have healed! The liver I get checked regularly. The only problem I am having now (not directly related to the liver) is a possible bile duct stone or problem. For about the last 2 months I started having pain in my upper right abdomen mimmicking biliary pain. I am also suspect for something called sphincter of oddi disorder. This is found in people who have had their gallbladders out. About 8 mths post op the GB surgery I had violent reactions to narcotics which I never had before.I am in the process of trying to sort all of these issues out. To top it off, I have had thyroid cancer dx in April 2001, and am dealing w/ my 3rd reccurance and awaiting my surgery date for this "whopper" as well. It really sucks to have lost all of this weight, have my first "skinny summer" and be in constant pain and feel like crap all of the time. I just pray everyday that they figure all of this out and that it will get better. Hang in there and feel free to e-mail me anytime. Jaime from Hamden.