I had open RNY gastric bypass 9 years ago and have just found out that I have a Peterson's Hernia.  The Dr. tells me that it has been getting larger over the years and is now quite large.  I am not able to get into surgery for another month.  I just hope I can last through this pain for a month.

Sara

I had my pre-op consultation with my surgeon today. He's also the same surgeon that did my origonal gastric bypass surgery.  He will be removing 70% of my 'old' stomach for 2 reasons. 1) to prevent another fistula from forming and 2) to reduce the amount of gastric cells that produce acid in the pouch & 'old' stomach. Even though the pouch & old stomach are totally separate, the same nerves control both.  He expects me to be in the hospital 4-5 days. He will also be putting in a G Tube (feeding tube) into the old stomach nub that will be left over after surgery to increase my protein intake to help the healing. He expects to leave that in 4-6 weeks.  I will need to follow the post-operative gastric bypass diet like I did when I originally had surgery; 1st liquids for a couple weeks, then move on to pureed foods, then to mechanical soft foods, etc.

As for a pre-operative diet, I have to drink protein shakes (Liquids) for 3 days prior to surgery to make sure that I have enough protein in my body. Again, that's to help with the healing.  My surgeon is pretty sure that he will be able to do this surgery laparascopically like he did with my initial bypass surgery.  He said the only reason he would have to open me up would be if he accidentally cut my spleen which is connected to the 'old' stomach by ligaments.  But he said that it would be unlikely that it would convert to an open procedure.

One interesting thing that he mentioned to me is that this is considered a revisional surgery.  I always thought that a revisional surgery was redoing the gastric bypass because of insufficient weight loss; but actually any surgery that occurs after the initial gastric bypass is considered revisional, including for the ulcer/fistula problem.  It's just now 6-10 years out that information on revisional surgery is being published, including statistics.  My surgeon said that the continuing education classes that he takes are all about revisional surgery. I think that we will begin to see more data in the years to come as more & more people develop problems that can;t be treated with medicine & require surgery.  Most ulcers heal in 12 weeks with carafate & a proton-pump inhibitor; having a marginal ulcer that doesn;t heal is rare. He also mentioned that it is possible that my ulcer perforated into the 'old' stomach which is what caused the fistula.

As for future health problems or additional supplements or hormones, he said I wouldn't have to take any more supplements than I'm taking now: B-12, Vitamin D, iron/Vitamin C, calcium citrate, and a multi-vitamin. And he said there are no future health problems associated with taking out 70% of the old stomach. 

I hope that this answers your questions & gives others out there with the same issue some guidance.  Please keep me in your thoughts January 12, 2010!

Maria,

I have had the complication of being unable to stop losing weight, and it has been VERY scary.  I am 5 feet tall and my lowest weight has been 82 pounds.  When I originally went to my surgeon concerning not being able to stop losing weight I weighed 102 pounds, which technically is borderline underweight for someone of my height, but he basically accused me of not eating and taking my supplements and said it was my fault...which was the FARTHEST thing from the truth.  I was eating around 3000 calories a day, getting in 120 mg of protein, and taking all of my vitamins.  So, I went on the hunt for a new surgeon.  The new surgeon said I needed to be revised, that too much of my intestines had been bypassed.  So, we did that surgery last January...by May my weight was down to 82 pounds.  He was stumped.  He had a PICC line (Permanent IV) put in and I got TPN (total parenteral nutrition) for 16 hours a day...that contanied 2400 calories and then I ate as much as I possible could on top of that.  Basically...the goal was to get me to a healthy weight and then do a complete takedown of my RNY.  Well, my PICC got infected in  September and I ended up with Sepsis...so the PICC had to come out...my surgeon wanted to do the complete takedown right then.  I chose to take the wait and see approach if I could now maintain on my own.  I struggle daily to keep at a healthy weight, but I have been successful in keeping my weight above 100 pounds.  

I don't know if that any of this is any help to you, but I just figured I would let you know you are not alone with that complication.

Laura 

What happens when you eat foods?

Which protein powder are you using, made up how? And how's your vites?

Vomiting? issues at the other end?

Have you been checked for small bowel obstruction? I'd hate to see you get a tube when you might have a relatively simple fix. BO is not "simple" but it is fixable, and theh if you could eat......

So I had lost 70 pounds, but was having pain my left side under my rib cage.  It was sharp and shooting at times and just annoying at other times.  It began to be particularly uncomfortable after I would eat.  Anyway, after a CT scan my surgeon scheduled diagnostic lap. where he was expecting to find adhesions.  During the surgery he found 4 adhesions and also my candy cane had elongated itself while healing.  He fixed the adhesions and shortened the candy cane again.  I was in the hospital for one day and discharged and could resume life with only a limitation of lifting heavy things.  Here I am almost 2 weeks post op and i have a pinching pain on my left side (kind of the same location) and my old stomach is gurgling a lot.  I am also able to eat a lot less than prior to the surgery (not that this is a problem...I am happy with this).
Has any one had a similar surgery....how long did it take to feel like your old self?  I have a follow up next Wednesday with my surgeon, but am a teacher and return to work on Monday.  I am concerned about my return and that all of this is normal.  I thought it wasn't supposed to be a big deal...I have taken all of my pain meds and am not necessarily in pain, but uncomfortable a lot of the time.