New here and looking for fellow Dr Horrilleno patients...

Hey All, I'm new here. My name is Lisa and I had a gastric bypass in Apr of 2002. I weighed 230 pounds and wore a size 20 (I'm 5'3"). I rapidly lost weight that first year, ending up at 118 pounds/size 3. I'd love to say it's all been great since them... but it's been a rough road. I first began having severe stomach (severe epigastric pain that radiated throughout my abdomen and made my pouch feel full of air; I'd burp incessantly but it didn't relieve the pressure) months after surgery. The attacks happened randomly (not related to eating) and very infrequently. Other than the pain they caused, they didn't affect my life much. At 3 years out, however, I figured out how to 'out eat' my surgery, as they say and finally came to terms with my truth: I am a compuslive overeater and no amount of surgery will change that. After some scary regain, I finally got my butt to an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and I'm happy to say that I have been free of compulsive eating ever since. Life was good.... and then the attacks began to happen more frequently - daily, in fact - and were now accompanied with nausea, inability to eat and GI blood loss. Currently, I weigh 97 pounds and wear a girls size 12. I am weak as a kitten and my hands shake all the time. I'm a nurse on a busy med-surg unit but can only handle working 4 hours at a time. Dr Horrilleno isn't reachable (at least I can't find him) so I've been seeing a new surgeon who believes I'm having intussuseptions (twisting of the bowel) at my roux en y. It has happened so long that he believes the area has ulcerated (which explains the blood loss). Problem is, my BMI is 17 which means I am a poor surgical risk. So on May 4 I am having my remnant stomach scoped and, if all looks well, a tube feeding will be placed so I can 'buff up' for the real surgery. Can you imagine? I never thought in a million years that me, obese 'big-boned' Lisa would need a tube feeding! Anyhoo, I just wanted to know if anyone here used Dr H and had similar problems. It would sure help my new surgeon to know everything he can...

Did he do your surgery in Louisiana? His OH info lists him in Texas...Maybe he moved or you did? Good luck anyway. sorry I couldn't help..
Holly

No. He did my surgery in Dallas, Tx (I used to live there). He no longer is in Texas, though... in fact, he's no longer doing bariatric surgery either. He's in Oklahoma doing vein stripping. What I'd like to find out is why he no longer does bariatric surgery and if anyone else is having my kind of trouble.

 Lisa,

This is all entirely heresay, but I know a friend of my sister's had her surgery through that doctor, and had massive complications. From what I hear, he had several patients die, and was at risk of losing his license, which is why he stopped doing the surgery and relocated.

Again, this is entirely heresay, but the RNY community is pretty tight-knit, and I believe what I've heard.

--Sara