what is a sticture? im pre op

what is a stricture? is it common , im am pre op and havent heard about that and i have done ALOT of research, anything u guys think i should know? thanks christal

A stricture is when the opening (stoma) from your new pouch to your intestines partially or fully closes. It happens in about 1 in 10 cases. We were talking about it at our support group meeting one nite and there were about 20 people who had surgery and sure enough 2 people had strictures. When you get a stricture, they have to go down with an endoscope and they use a balloon to open the stoma back open. I guess it's usually not a really big deal to perform, probably uncomfortable. How people know if they have a stricture is if they can't keep any food down and if it's fully closed, they can't even keep water down. It all comes back up. Usually, in most cases but not all, they generally happen within the first 6-8 months. Some have had them further out. You never know if you are going to be the one until it happens. I'm almost 7 months out and crossing my fingers!

HEY THANKS , WELL OUT OF ALL THIS TIME NO ONE HAS SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THAT TO ME !NOT EVEN THE DOCTORS ,YOU WOULD THINK THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT THAT ALOT BECAUSE IT IS SO COMMON?I HAVE HEARD THE WORD ON THE CHAT ROOM BUT NEVER HAD IT EXPLAINED WELL THANKS AND GOOD LUCK !!!!! CHRISTAL

well if you have a doctor or program that doesn't talk about it, then it isn't a good program.

If you're interested I have photo of one my strictures on my website. http://www.immafooker.com/blog/_archives/2005/12/18/1454873.html

Strictures do not occur with the Duodenal Switch procedure as this procedure preserves the natural exit from the stomach. For more information, please read my profile and/or visit the Duodenal Switch Forum here on OH. LeaAnn

If I were you I would take a little more time to thorough research before jumping into any weight loss surgery, carefully go through the journeys all RNY patients and research and research and SEE what these people live through daily. The quick loss sounds very tempting but you have to decided if you want to risk being sick all the time just to get weight off. This is my reason for choosing the Lap Band over ANY of the other procedures, I was intially down for RNY but as I looked deeply into the daily lives of RNY folks sorry I got turned off. I don't want my WLS to totally control me and risk making my life worst just to lose an extra 20 pounds quicker...BY THE WAY...I HAVE LOST 56 POUNDS SINCE September and still look healthy and not drained and sick looking...I don't the idea of losing my weight too quickly anyway...to me that is not healthy...I can eat anything...no vomiting not one day...just I eat like a 5 year old... I love my band... Good luck on your journey! Naomi 326/270/??

Who said that rny-ers are sick all the time? I realize that some people have posted complications like that here on the boards, but I know at least 5 people in real life who've had it and aren't "sick all the time." Everything's relative, I suppose. Lap-band works for you and is the choice you made. Great! But that doesn't mean that lap-band is the answer for everyone. And it doesn't mean that rny means an automatic ticket to sickville. There are some people who risk death by not getting their weight off quickly enough. It's a choice to be made with the help of your personal doctor. I'd love to try the lap-band - but it would have the same effect for me as joining Weigh****chers or other things I've tried in the past - it would take me a year to get from where I am right now to where you started out - and that's still unhealthy. Just as an example... With a BMI of 63 and insurance only covers rny - these are my considerations. As to the topic of the original post: Yes, strictures are a possibility, but they're not a given. I'm still PRE-OP but I already have a mild esophageal stricture that formed from acid reflux - another reason the rate of weight loss is a concern for me. Sometimes random bites of food have a difficult time going down and has to come up. It's uncomfortable, but treated the same way a stoma stricture would be - with a scope dilation. Simple outpatient procedure. I would still have the esophageal stricture no matter what route I chose to go - but the rny is the procedure with the better outcome for solving reflux disease, caused from my girth pressing in on my stomach/esophagus.....long story short - the sooner the "girth" disappears, the better my acid reflux will be managed. **off of soapbox** Definitely follow the other pieces of advice and educate yourself - doctors are human, and you're the only one who can decide what's in your own best interests.

Well now that you know what a stricture is.... I had rny and in the first 4 months post op I had a total of 14 EGD's. That's the procedure where they put a scope down your throat and stretch the stoma. Though everything is fine now. It was the scariest most unhealthy 4 months of my life. We thought I was going to die due to lack of water, food, vitamins. I called myself "the queen of strictures" when I would go into hospital. I was on a first name basis with everyone. It happens and something you definately should be aware of. I have a friend who is going through that right now and has had 3 so far, almost 2 months out.

I see this post was a long time ago but I thought I'd respond anyway. I had my DS surgery september 07 and developed a stricture at the bottom of my stomach around february 08 at first no one knew what was wrong because strictures are not common with the DS but ultimately i ended up in the hospital because i had no food or fluid period for about a week and was extremely sick. I had an upper endoscopy which revealed the exit of my stomach was only open about a pin hole size. I had to have a balloon dilation to open it back up it lasted 4 weeks i had it done every 4 weeks through november 08 in november 08 i saw a gastric specialist who dilated me and used steroid injections and that dilation lasted about 8 months and I am about to face another one. I am hoping the end is in sight. I made it to my goal in 7 months and I am still happy I had surgery even though this is taking its toll. Hope this helps feel free to email with any questions.