complete detachment
Heather L.
on 8/17/04 3:36 pm - Limerick, ME
on 8/17/04 3:36 pm - Limerick, ME
I had my surgery in May and did well the first week. I then got a high fever and had chills and a pain in my side that radiated to my left shoulder. The Dr on call put me on Cipro and I started to feel better for a while although I started to have nausia and vomiting. It went on for 3 weeks and just got worse. Finally, my husband insisted the Surgeons look down into my stomach and what they saw shocked them. They had never seen it before, A complete detachment of the stomach from the intestine.
Over that 3 week period my body created a membrane using the liver, diaphram and pancreas to contain the leak and I was not poisoned nor did I exhibit the full symptoms of a leak such as a racing heart. I went into emergency surgery (Lap) and had a J tube put in which I have used since June 27. They left me detached because they couldn't do better than what my body had already done but it needed to calm down for several months before they could go back in and do the repair.
The membrane began to shrink and it drained my syliva into my intestine but I wasn't allowed to have water or food at all. The membrane became a fibrotic tunnel (which we have endoscopic pictures of) and I could sip fluids because it drained from my still detached pouch into the intestine.
Last week, the tunnel started to close up and during an endoscopy it perforated. I again had a leak and I went into Emergency surgery. I am now sewn and stapled back together the way It was originally.
This has been very hard to go through....I never expected to be so sick. I have lost 70 pounds and am off all meds for diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. That is a blessing. I am just home from the hospital and pray that I will not become detached again. I see the Dr tomorrow and may start on blended food this week. I don't want the J tube out until I am sure I'm OK though. Has anyone heard of a complete detachment ? My surgeon has never heard of this before. It was a large contained leak.
Has anyone heard of anything like this and what was the outcome?
Thanks