Hey Arlies......Help

Hey, I went to see Dr. Blake the other day and he said that he does not check for leaks??????? Did he tell you the same thing? That kinda worries me. How would he know if that is happpening if he doesn't check? Please give some advice. Should I reconsider? Thanks for your help.. Barb. One more thing. I met a ms. dunaway this past week at UMC. She was having a procedure done. She had had her wls in january and had already lost 150 pounds. Do you know her? If you do let me know how to reach her. I wished I had of asked her but I didn't.

hey barbara hun i'm seeing Dr. Blake also...I dont know about him not checking for leaks afterwards so I would suggest to call Kristy (his nurse) in the morning just to check it out....I have gotta call her in the morning anyways to check on some paperwork so I will ask about it also....very good question tho and definately worth looking into.. Good Luck and God Bless, Angie Bea

Barbara, I wouldn't worry too much about this, your surgeon is well qualified and has a good track record, and of course there are usually some people you hear about where everything has gone wrong, but that is NOT the norm. Most of the leak tests are done "just because". I had mine and it was gross, the stuff they make you drink was disgusting and the aftermath even worse ( not to be graphic, but my stomach didnt like that gastrograffin solution and my bowels neither.. ). There are other signs present if you have a leak, and most surgeons do a leak test while you're still under the knife, before they finish. If you're concerned, talk to your surgeon some more about this, I am sure he appreciates your concern and interest. If you're comfortable with your surgeon, if you trust him, then talk to him and see what he says Andrea

I see from your profile you have BCBS... Is that of Ms?

Well, Angie Bea is gonna check for us in the am. I thought he did the air test in surgery, but I could be wrong on that. So Angie'll get the scoop for us. I am on the phone with Kristi Ethridge and she had surgery with Dr. Salameh on Monday at UMC. She had a leak test during surgery (with air) and the next day with the barium test and the x-ray. If you need to talk email me with your phone number. Dunaway sounds real familiar, but I can't place her. did you check under "peers" , go to MS and then to the "d"s to see if she's there? I probably have talked to her - I DO talk alot, but I just can't place her. I was surprised to learn that alot of doctors don't do the leak test. News to me! I thought it was standard - at least the air one. Can't wait to hear what Angie finds out! Smoochies & Hugs Arlies

I think they ALL do the air test during surgery. I am sure the test he does not do is the post op test that is done with either barium or gastrographin. Barium and gastrographin are x ray dye that makes the GI tract show up on xray.

Is this her? MS dunaway? http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=D1056028414 ASK

Please make sure that your doc does these tests during surgery & after to check for leaks. There have been to many deaths from wls related to undetected leaks. Personally if my doc had said she did not do them, I'd have found another surgeon. Even if she did have a good track record. Knowing what I know now, I'd travel wherever I had to in order to use the same surgeon again. (Dr. Amy Rose) Best wishes!

I talked to a gentleman last night whose wife had surgery with Dr B and he said that Dr B did BOTH the air test and the "swallow" test the day after surgery. Maybe you misunderstood? At any rate, Angie Bea will let us know later today. Smoochies & Hugs Arlies

hey yall, im sorry but my day has been so busy that by the time i got homed and wound down and thought about what else i needed to do, when I called to speek to Kristy they had already left the office for the day. So I PROMICE I will call first thing in the morning and try to talk to her about this. Angie Bea