Complications - RNY - 8 years out

Has anyone else experienced a gastrogastic fistula after RNY surgery? What were your symptoms? How was it diagnosed?

I have weird issues happened right now. My surgeon and I are still working on finding the solution.

I have a lot of abdominal pain. Achy middle abdomen on both sides. Stabbing pain on the lower right. On occasion, I also feel a bulge, like a hernia in my upper left ab area that is not a hernia.

A while back, my RNY surgeon did a CT scan with contrast and found no digestive complications and no hernia. The CT scan did show a new, small right kidney tumor. While my I was in surgery getting the tumor removed, the RNY surgeon also removed a bunch of scar tissue from my abdomen. She looked for and did not find a hernia.

Since then, nothing much has changed as far as my abdominal pain. One symptom has become more intense than before surgery. I've noticed that I only have a BM every several days and, when it happens, it's painful and explosive. Afterwards, I feel better for a few hours until I have a meal. Then the pain cycle begins again until the next BM.

I found a post-RNY complication called gastrogastric fistula. I read on some websites that it is a rare complication of RNY. Other sites show up to a 6% rate of incidence. Apparently a gastrogastric fistula can be seen on a CT scan and sometimes not. It can be seen via an upper GI scope sometimes too. The symptoms are very close to mine.

I am trying to gather more personal experience-type information before I talk to her at my next appt. with my RNY surgeon.

Any comments or contributions would be much appreciated.

I don't have any input or information but wanted to send you a hug.  Hopefully they will find something that helps you.

I would consider a consult with gastroenterologist.  Also, I would also consider the possibility that the symptoms you are experiencing could be completely unrelated  to RNY and therefore coincidental.  

I had one.  They found it 4 months ago. I was great for years then I started having troubles with bile projectiling and burning me up from the inside. They found mine with a GI scope, I also had a blind limb. You need an experienced revisional surgeon. I had to have a gastrectomy done 7 weeks ago. They are rare but they are finding them more in long term post ops.

I am in the same boat you are....I had open RNY in December 2005.  I went from 340 pounds to 160 in 15 months.  Around 1 year out, I started having some indigestion issues like reflux for which my surgeon prescribed Zantac and for the most part, I quit having a problem with it once I quit taking the Zantac.

Fast forward 8ish years...For the last three years, I have had pain of some sort in my right side just under my ribs.  A friend of mine picked me up and I literally felt something rip under my ribs and had terrible pain immediately for a few weeks afterward. Now, the pain is getting really bad.  I thought maybe it was a hernia, although no amount of poking by my surgeon or tests like a CT, ultrasound, etc. can find anything.  Now my surgeon is figuring that I may have gall stones or a bile duct blockage.  I was surprised because when I had my surgery in 2005, my gall bladder was removed.  He informed me stones and blockages can still happen.  I went home and began to do a little research on it.  I sure seemed to have a lot of the symptoms and complaints...pain under the ribs on the right hand side, pale bowel movements, fatigue, pain that radiates to my shoulder, the fact that I was so overweight for so long, that I experienced rapid weight loss, and the fact that I still eat a high fat diet and consume more sugar than I should.  Of course, I don't know for sure yet but am doing liver function tests on Tuesday and seeing my surgeon next Thursday.  He said if worse comes to worse, that he would root around in there to find out what the issue is during my revision.  It's the whole "rooting around" part that has me a little concerned as far as my revision goes...

Good luck!

A gastrogastric fistula is when the pouch reattaches to the old blind stomach. Then a hole/fistula forms and the bile and digestive juices instead of going down back up through the blind stomach through the pouch and that is when you start having burning issues. 

#ohlittleone: my issues are very similar to the ones you describe. My RNY surgeon thought I had an ulcer a few years back. She gave me some pink liquid meds to help clear them up. It got better for a while but now I have similar symptoms with a whole bunch of new ones and pain. After reading some of the responses to my original post, it sounds like I need to find a surgeon experienced in RNY complications. My instincts were already telling me that my RNY surgeon hadn't a clue as to what was wrong or how to solve it. She seems frustrated and that scares me. 

A gg fistula can be dangerous.  I wouldn't fart around with someone who doesn't know where to look. I would look for an experienced revision surgeon in you area

How do I find an experience RNY revision surgeon? What questions do I ask? Any ideas?

You are going to start looking around in your area. Not all bariatric surgeons do revisions. Having a scope done is key.. That is the only way they will truly see what is going on..