Complications? Worse in New Hampshire

Hello Everyone, Most people here are looking for their surgery or are just post op. It is important that you understand a few things. First, go to Boston. Yup. There are not any good surgeons here yet. A good surgeon has done far more than 100 procedures. That means, specifically, Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Southern NH Medical center in Nashua just don't have the goods. Surgeons don't do a bad job on purpose....they do a bad job because they haven't got the experrience. Beth Israel, NEMC, and Mass General DO have the experience. Go there. I didn't. I went to see the bariatric surgeon at SNMC. He had done about 70 procedures at the time. The research on MD's showing that the newer surgeons make the most errors came out 3 months after my surgery [see Cleveland Study]. What happened? I had the RNY-open I had emergency surgery for a blockage 4 days later. I had an open wound that would not heal. The surgeon at SNMC dabbed at it with silver nitrate. Finally after seeing a granuloma grow 2 inches out of my stomach I decided on a second opinion. I saw a bariatric surgeon at Portsmouth Hospital. She cultured it, found bacteria, and refused to treat me. Send me back to SNMC even though she KNEW that I would not go. So, she sent me out in the street with no referral and a raging infection. I knew doctors at Wentworth Douglas. Fortunately, good docs saw me through their wound center. Three months later after daily, sometimes twice daily wound care, I had surgery #3. This was debridement and removal of inside sutures so I could have a closed wound. Finally in March, it closed. In May, I developed hernias. HUGE hernias. And I get sick every single time I eat. This time I went to Mass General to see the top doc there. I go to surgery in a few weeks to get the hernias fixed with mesh....a bigger operation than the previous three. And I have to have an endoscopy and possibly have ulcers and my have to have my opening stretched. I have been sick every single day. I have been in constant pain. I am 110 pounds lighter but very very ill. I am part of the 20%....yeah, that is the RIGHT number, who have complications. Think about it. Go to Boston to get this done if you are set on it. If you are not.....trust me, this is one woman who does not think it was worth it. Looking at another two to three months coming back from her FIFTH surgery so far, Be well, be lucky...some are, some are not. Terry

Terry, Sorry to hear about all your issues, I hope you find your self to a heathly and Happy you , you certianly deserve it!! I have to agree with you on the Boston thing, I had my surgery on 12/13/04 @ NEMC after searching and searching, it is the only place in New England to go they have done 3500 or so of these operations ( opens, laps, lapbands, ) I think most people don't really do the research and find out who and where is the best I can go to for ME. To date I've had no issues at all and I do mean none and feel fantastic and down about 90lbs. Keep the faith your days will turn around and get better.

Hmmm, are you implying that the complication rate is higher in NH or? ... I guess I'm not clear and would require more information. I don't know ... I guess like any surgery or surgeon, regardless of skill and ability, there can be issues/complications and we go into this knowing that. I have to note that I did go to NEMC in Boston initially and then transferred to Dr. Drinkwater's bariatric program here at SNHMC. While I'm only 1 month out, I have been so very pleased with my surgeon and this program! Not a complication to be had, smooth like butta, thank God and the doc. I did my homework for about 6 months or so, lots of it. It sounds like you did too so you already know that Dr. Drinkwater was trained by Boston's best for this specialty area. And the suggestion usually is to seek out a surgeon with 100+ surgeries under his belt. This doc has that experience with a very low complication rate. While I do empathize with you for your medical issues and do wish you good health, I want to encourage folks to get as much info as possible and talk to a variety of people. I'm a big proponent of informed choice. Anyway, we all make our own way ultimately. I wish everyone a safe and smooth journey. Peace, K

Terry, Sorry to hear you had problems but to each their own. I have 2 friends that has their surgeries in Boston...one at NEMC, One at Brigham Women's. BOTH had problems and BOTH wound up in surgery again. My friend that had her's at NEMC wishes that their program was as thorough and structured as SNMC. (support groups, skills classes, follow up, etc.)I've met MANY of Dr. D's patients that have been extremely successful and had no problems. It's great to tell everyone that they should go to Boston, (I wouldn't, I love Dr. D & Jen and trust the doctor fully) but not everyone's insurance is willing to pay for out of state doctors. And besides that, Boston's doctors and their lack of support aren't all they are cracked up to be. I hope 2005 finds you feeling healthier and that everything works out for you...It's unfortunate that you had such a bad time but again, to each their own. I sincerely hope and pray for your continued wellness. Judy

Hi Terry, I am so sorry you had these complications! That really sucks. I do, however, have to disagree about Dr. Drinkwater not being a good surgeon. He is a PHENOMINAL surgeon. Unfortunately, you had complications after a surgery he did, but that doesn't mean he isn't a great surgeon, who is highly skilled. Dr. Drinkwater got all of his training in Boston before starting the program at SNMC. In reading your post, it sounds to me that the surgeon in Portsmouth was the most negligent by turning you away when you had a raving infection. I understand that she was hesitant to treat another WLS patient from another surgeon, but if you went there very ill, turning you away should not have been the plan of action. Blockages are a somewhat common occurance after WLS and not due to negligence on the part of the surgeon. I am so sorry about your incision! What exactly happened with that? Did they have to re-open you for the blockage? WOW...you had quite the problems with hernias! I understand that this is another common condition people who have had WLS (primarily open) get. I am glad you were able to get the right care to take of these issues. As far as telling people to go to Boston because that is where the experienced surgeons are is a bit unfair. Yes, Boston has great surgeons, but they also have had patients with complications as Judy described, patients who have died, etc. I am sure you read about the woman who died recently in Boston after WLS, and another hospital in Boston has stopped doing WLS because of the deaths that occurred at their hospital. It can happen in New Hampshire, and it can happen in Boston. It can happen anywhere. WLS is a risky surgery because the population of people getting the surgery is a high risk population. We are at higher risk of complications because of all our health issues stemmed from obesity. Then the surgery itself is risky, as well. I feel that here in New Hampshire, we are LUCKY to have such an experienced surgeon in Dr. Drinkwater. His program is getting bigger and bigger (no pun intended! ) everyday, and I have personally referred a few people his way. I believe so strongly in him. I trusted him with my life and he didn't disappoint. During my hospital stay, I had issues with pain control. He was right on top of it, ensuring I was as comfortable as possible. He checked in on me constantly, and made it known he was watching out for me. Dr. Drinkwater has been phenominal from day one. He is still very active on my case and I am 5 months post-op. He ensures my labs are done on time, spends a lot of time with me during appointments, answers any questions I have, makes sure I am seen as scheduled (I had to cancel once and he asked to see me earlier the next month so we could keep on track of my appointments), etc. I feel him, and his entire staff are top notch and I am so sorry you didn't have that experience. I have a lot of friends in his programs and no one has anything negative to say about him AT ALL. I so wish you had the experience with him that we all have had, Terry. I really feel for you! I am so sorry that you were in that percentage of people who had complications! That really stinks, hon. I hope you continue to travel down the road to good health. Hugs, Denise

OOOPS! Found a typo in my post! "raving" should have been RAGING! I wish we had an edit option!

Hi Terry. I hope that you are on the road to recovery very soon. I honestly am not sure that it is generally the surgeon, no matter who it is, that causes a person to have complications, unless they do something very wrong. Some people just have problems after surgery, and I am sorry to hear that you happened to be one of those people, and that your treatment didn't go very well. I had surgery in NH, with Dr. Gould at Dartmouth Hitch**** and everything went fine. I have had no complications from the surgery, which was last June, and so far I have lost 108 lbs. I do have some medical issues, possibly caused from the weight loss, but they can't possibly be contributed to my surgeon, so those are an entirely different issue. As for saying all good doctors are in Boston, I guess I would have to respectfully disagree, and say to anyone new, do your research and go with your gut feeling. You really want to feel comfortable with your surgeon, because he/she is going to important to you for a long time. If they are not receptive to you asking questions, or you just don't feel comfortable with them, I would say that they might not be the right surgeon for you, no matter how great they may be thought of, because what good is a surgeon if you can't communicate with them. To me, that is the most important part. Also, equally important, at least in my case, is being able to communicate with his assistant, because I see them much more than I see the surgeon. Any, just my 5 cents worth, since I sort of went beyond 2 cents! Hang in there Terry, and I really hope that they can help you start feeling better very soon. You don't deserve all this pain, stress and heartache just for trying to make yourself feel better!! Good luck!! Hugs, Celia

My surgeon was Dr. Drinkwater. And although he did a fine job with lots of people ...and is now over a 100 people, he was not over 100 surgeries when he did mine. And that is where the problem lay. I chose him specifically because he had trained at NEMC. I knew that Shikora was a top guy in Boston and I knew his training program is one of the best. That is why I thought Drinkwater would be okay for me. He wasn't. Please do understand that in no way am I trying to say he is a bad surgeon. I am not. And now he is a lot more experienced than he was in October of 2003. What I am saying is that choosing a surgeon means asking a lot of questions including how many of this specific surgery have you done. And if they have not done over 100 of the surgery you will have...run. Of course there are complications with Shakura, Mass General and BI. They often take on the patients that other folks won't take. Remember, anyone over 350 pounds is ar much higher risk. And only the very experienced programs will usually take them. And one more thing. I don't know how I am reported at SNHMC. I am what is called "lost to follow up" because I left. So, I am not listed as a complication rate....right? But I am. Five operations later....that makes me a very bad statistic indeed. I hold no grudges against any of the doctors I saw...including the very young green one that freaked when she got a bacteria on culturing my wound and would not treat it. A more experienced doctor at Wentworth Douglas would and did. I was lucky. The greater problem, and the one I guess I am really trying to address...is this one. If you have complications, if you move away, if you just dont like your surgeon it is difficult to find your way through the medical world to get the help you need. I am IN the medical profession and I still had a hard time getting the right surgeons to "fix the mess". [Not my words...ha} What I ended up doing is deep research on who wrote the seminal articles on giant hernia repair. Then I contacted them all over the country and got recommendations. That is how I finally found the surgeon that could "fix the mess". I have one surgery tomorrow and another on Monday. Hopefully they will be the last ones. It has been a tough journey. I would not do it again. But I would recommend that people who are very happy with their results understand that 20% do have some complications....some worse, some better than mine...and that these folks, including me, need to make sure that they advocate for themselves and that they find very, very expert surgeons to help them. No one wants to hurt a patient. It happens. I guess what I would like to see is a little more understanding about the 20% of us that don't have the rosy outcome. Be well, and please do fight for yourself if you find yourself in trouble. Please do call the best doctors you can find....you deserve good follow up. Terry

I am so sorry to hear you had this horrible experience. I have a couple questions if you dont mind. Do you think Dr D was negligent? Would this have happened no matter who the surgeon was? I am in his program and have met with him and feel very comfortable with him as my surgeon. But I am worried about complications. I do agree Dr D was very new in 2003. I would have my own reserves with that. I do hope that you are feeling better. Have you reached your goal weight? Good luck and God Bless. Chris

Chris, PLEASE do not second guess Dr. D...he is FABULOUS!! I am a week out and feel wonderful. I was scared of the complications going into this but every time I met with Dr. D, I knew I had made the right decision. He is a wonderful surgeon and he cares tremendously for his patients (unlike this past patient seems to want you to believe). I saw him everyday while I was in the hospital and he ALWAYS had a big smile and encouraging words. Complications can arise with any type of surgery, not just WLS. If you are that unsure and have too many reservations, I would keep with the program a little longer until you feel better about this. Please e-mail me if you want to chat. All the best, Judy