I had my surgery last year in Monterrey by Dr Roberto Rumbaut-very happy. Check out my profile. Heather post lap rny jan 27,2004 253/140 5'8"

Absolutely the first person to talk to about this is your surgeon. Call right away and talk to a nurse. Don't wait for an appointment. If leaks are within the GI tract, i.e. as often happens with vertical gastric banding through the staple line from your pouch into the rest of the stomach, it will affect your weight loss, but does not necessarily have to be addressed right away. However, leaks from the GI tract out into your abdominal cavity are life threatening and require immediate surgical repair. Again, you need to be talking to your surgeon about this first, then the support group or online forum. Caryl Mauk

The risks of complications from surgery are much higher in smokers in ANY surgery not just WLS. You will be at higher risk for blood clots, respiratory complications and wounds don't heal well in smokers. The reason most MD's want you to quit is for your own good (if you have less complications, it keeps their reputation good too!!) There are a couple of ways to check to see if a smoker has quit and for how long. To the lady who has quit and surgery is just a few days away.. Congrats and keep up the good work. Your blood work should look just fine. I quit the minute I realized I was going to try to make WLS a reality for myself. I still struggle (its been Four weeks, 9 hours, 43 minutes and 18 seconds since my last cig!) I would suggest for some really good info that you check out whyquit.com Good luck to you guys!!

HI LORA! I TOO AM A SMOKER. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO QUIT FOR SOME TIME NOW AND I'VE BEEN SMOKE FREE FOR 2 DAYS AND MY SURGERY IS IN 8 DAYS. CAN SOMEONE HELP SHOULD I POSTPONE FOR A LATER DATE?

So I'm just about to hit my 1 year anniversary and have lost 162 pounds but when I just received back my upper GI results today I was told I have staple leaks. Does anyone know about the next step that takes place with staple leaks and does it require immediate attention. What happens if I don't want to go into surgery again right away? Is it necessary to fix??? Any information would be appreciated, thank you.