Help sleeve leak!!!

Dear All: I am so sorry to bother you but my mother had a stomach sleeve and there is a leak. She has been in the hospital for 6 weeks now and it's just getting worse and worse and I am freaking out. They put a stent -- then abssess grew -- we are loaded on anti biotics and we drained it -- she went back home -- then back to hospital because the abssess grew -- we re drained -- now they're saying there's still a leak because the stent shifted. We don't know how to move forward. We're so scared. I was hoping to help her morale with stories of people who went through this. Someone to call maybe so my mom can hear from someone who went through this. Thank you -- ?feeling drained.

Zof, not sure that I can be much help except as a person, like you and Mom, who counts on medical care to be good, you or someone in your family who can represent you, need to escalate a problem like this up the chain within your doctor's office, your hospital, the local medical association, and even to your local state representative who might be able to bring greater assistance to you.  You need an ally...maybe a nurse...who can boldly steer you in a direction...even if it is to seek a new, second opinion at a different hospital.  If you are being covered by a medical insurance, maybe they should be made aware so that they work on your behalf.  I hope some other medical professionals can offer an escalation path so that your Mom starts turning the corner soon.  Prayers are with you.

I am so sorry you and your mother are going through this.   As a former ICU nurse, I personally have taken care of patients with infections post WLS.  They are rare cases but usually very sick. I understand your fears.  The course of treatment is strong, specific spectrum antibiotic and abscess control just as you have described.  I never worked with stents but I have not worked recently.  The stomach is a unique healing environment.  I have seen patients heal from very sick to being discharged from the hospital but it is very dependent on the effectiveness of the antibiotics and the patients general health.

The next not a sleeve story.  My dad had stomach cancer and had a total gastrectomy.  He had a leak from the very start.  (The esophagus is very hard to connect with softer tissue)  They put him on antibiotics, fed him IV with TPN and in the course of things he had to stay in the hospital almost 2 months.  He did not have infections.  He healed and was able to lead a relatively normal eating life. The waiting to heal was worrisome.  

Prayers of healing for your mom.

You may want to get in touch with a different bariatric surgeon than the one she's working with currently. If the medical team working with her now is responsible for these issues, it would be smart to get a second opinion.

Your hospital should also have a patient advocate or social worker. That's a good person to help you figure out where to go, who in the hospital to talk to, and other steps you could take. You can often find that phone number on the hospital website, or you can call the front desk and they can refer you.