Gastric sleeve leak

Has anyone else had to deal with a leak after surgery? I had gastric sleeve surgery on 1-25-17. At 5 weeks out I started feeling sick and thought it was the flu. So I just rested from Mon. - Fri. I started having back pain on Monday and trouble breathing and running a temp and my abdomen was very tender. I finally told my surgeon (3-3-17) I was have having these issues and she sent me in for a CT scan which found the leak. I spent 5 days in the hospital. I had infection from the leakage. It is now 4-10-17 and I am still having issues. They put the drain in and I had a stent put in my stomach to cover the leak on the inside but it slipped down. Then they put in a 6 in stent inside the the stent already there to cover more space. It slipped down so they went back in and pulled that stent up and tacked it in place. That started to work and I was down to hardly any drainage. Now I know its leaking AGAIN. I had another CT scan and they said it was healed up, but I KNOW IT IS NOT. But the on call Dr. told me to go ahead and do full liquids and purees. I see my Dr. this Tues. She has been out of town for the past week when it started leaking again. SO, I'm wondering, how long did it take you to totally heal, and what did they do for you?

Beth

Just out of curiosity (and be honest) are you a smoker?

I really hope they get this sorted out for you.

Looking to place blame? Sometimes leaks just happen.

Not at all!

I've only made a few posts here, all of which were positive. Don't jump to conclusions because I asked a yes or no question.

From what I perceive, lots of folks here have been conditioned to expect the worst out of people, with regards to snarky and condescending attitudes. Don't let it ruin your ability to see the best in people. Especially when said people's intentions are to truthfully be helpful.

(edited for spelling and clarity)

Leaks can just happen at any time and to any person. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason I didn't take that question as placing blame. I took it as gathering more information. If a person is a smoker, or diabetic, immuno-compromised or overweight (which we are or else we wouldn't have had this surgery), these are all factors in slow wound healing. These factors can influence length of time healing of a leak.

Agreed. My thought process was if the risk factor(s) can be mitigated or eliminated with some encouragement and accountability, all the better. (The primary reason for support groups such as obesity help is encouragement. The second, in my opinion, is assistance with accountability. Just like lifestyle coaching which is very popular with health insurance companies nowadays.)

The reason I went straight for the smoking question is because my surgeon has performed hundreds and hundreds of VSG operations. His only two leaks were people who smoked. I'm no expert, I was just going for the (arguably) easiest thing to fix.

(For the record, I've been smoke free for 14 months as of 6 days ago. I know what it's like!)

I am truly sorry you're going through this, I hope you hear from others that had this complication and their experiences.

There's a secret facebook.com group for people that had complications like leaks. Her name is Nat Eddy. You can search for her and send her message to join the group.

Much love

Hello, my surgery was on 4/4/17. About 8 weeks out, ba CK pain and major pain in my stomach. Fever of only 100. CT showed what they are calling an abscess, Hematoma or leak, they are not sure. Tomorrow, 6/22 I have to go on feeding tube. I am really concerned. They say only 2-3 weeks, but I hear much longer on feeding tube than that. I have to get back to work and pray I don't get any infections. Will a leak really heal on its own using the feeding tube? I am really low on iron and liver counts are high. Does anyone have any input?