WLS Serious Issue Here!!!

Has anyone heard from the following? high oxylate - kidney stones Original Post by Dawn Miller at 9:57 AM PST on 06/19/2004 Foosland, IL Hi, This is the first time I am posting. I used this site when I was getting information for my gastric bypass surgery. I am 9 months out - 94 pounds down. No problems for me. My question is on my husband. He is 3 years out. He developed kidney stones within a few months of his surgery, but we are just now finding out that it is a much greater problem then kidney stones. He is now seeing a nephrologist - which is how we are finally getting some idea of what is going on. After talking with the nephrologist, the nephrologist talking to other physicians, and us buying books & researching. We have found that Darwin has a rare, but possible complication from gastric bypass. It has to do with fat malabsorption. Because of the fat malabsorption, his body is creating & absorbing 4-5 times the amount of free radical oxylate crystals. These oxylate crystals then bind with calcium to form stones - that in and of itself is bad. But the critically bad thing is that free radical oxylate in the numbers that he has in his urine is literally destroying his kidneys. He is headed for complete kidney failure if something doesn't change. Currently the nephrologist has given him one more regiment of medications & dietary changes & will retest in 6 weeks. But, he feels fairly certain that the only option Darwin will have is to consult with a surgeon about a reversal of the bypass. So here are the questions I'd like to ask this group: 1. Does anyone know of any post-op patients that have had this severe of a kidney problem associated to the bypass? 2. Does anyone have any idea where to find more information specifically how fat malabsorption and post-op gastric bypass patients fair after a reversal? The only internet information I can find on fat malabsorption has to do with HIV patients. 3. Does anyone know of any surgeons that have reversed a bypass for a similar reason & what the results were & is there a way to only partially reverse it - in otherwords, maybe just change the amount of the bowel that is being bypassed? We have talked with my surgeon's nurse, because his surgeon is in Chicago (Vitello) & his insurance won't send him back there anyway. She thinks that my surgeon will see him, just to satisfy the insurance issue & then refer him on to Barnes in St. Louis. Anyone familiar with the surgeons there? Thank for any help and information you can send my way!! Dawn M.

Yes I have heard of this. I have been researching Crohn's disease and came upon a link that talks about short bowel syndrome. This is not the same as having WLS but info can be gathered siince some of the mechanisms are similiar, with parts of the intestine compensating for the bypassed section of our intestine. Good reading at this link: http://www.julies-story.org/ibd/sbs.htm "The presence of fats in the colon can also lead to other problems. The fat combines with the calcium in the stool and prevents its combination with oxalates (salts) and their subsequent removal. Since oxalates are not removed with the stool, they are absorbed through the colonic mucosa and excreted in the urine in higher than normal amounts, leading to oxalate kidney stones. If the ileocecal valve is present, it slows down the transit time and slows down this process. The ileocecal valve also helps prevent the backwash of colonic contents into the ileum, preventing bacterial contamination of the small bowel. This bacteria, which is foreign to the small bowel, can digest bile salts, further depleting the pool, and result in the formation of even more irritating bile salts which can cause severe diarrhoea"

Thank you for this information - it is similar to several other articles & books that I have been reading (spending almost all of my free time researching and reading at this time). My biggest question still remains - will surgical intervention help? And has any other WLS patient been through this procedure? I've been surprised to not find much - as it relates to the WLS - other than several articles that say it is a possibility. Thank You Again!!