Internal Hernia -

I was just operated on for an internal hernia on Tuesday the 26th. I didn't know there were various types of hernia's that can occur. Here's a description of what Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies has written about this. I had what is termed an "internal hernia" which is where : internal hernias occur when the bowel passes under bowel. With gastric bypass and duodeanal switch, the rearrangement of the intestines creates a potentinal trap. Sometimes these traps are closed, but as you lose weight, the trap opens again. If you have an internal hernia, you'll definitely need more surgery to fix it and to pull the intestines out of the trap. Sometimes the blood supply to the bowel can be interrupted as the bowel passes into the trap. If this occurs, some of your bowel may may have to be removed. When your procedure is done laparoscopically, you tend to form less scar tissue, which may result in more internal hernias. The good news is that if caught early, the surgery to fix the internal hernia can also be done laparoscopically. This was taken from Weight Loss Surgery for dummies. Evidently there is enough support that it was taken seriously by the surgeon and my disabillity insurance company. The outcoime I got today was that they allot 4 weeks for recovery. I only had 3 with my RNY and it was like pulling teeth. I didn't see this coming at all. I started having trouble eating last weekend and attributed it to stress. Christmas day it came to a full blow and i couldn't eat a saltine cracker. I deveoped pain when I sipped water to,. Besides the GI discomfort I wasn'tn in any pain and I didn't see that this was an emergency situation. My advice is not to be so hard headed like me and try to fight the symptoms. I am recovering fine, but I don't remember having this much pain after my RNY. This has been my only WLS surgery complication and it hasn't changed how I feel about surgery one bit. I'd do the RNY again in a split second. Good Luck. Jenn

Jenn, Thanks for the information. I'm having a Lap RNY on Jan 29th. I do have a tendency to 'suffer through pain and symptoms' so this is good advice for me to take everything seriously post-op. Where did you find the WLS for Dummies? I'd look to buy a copy. Wishing you a speedy and full recovery, Karen

Hi Karen, Congrats on your up coming surgery. I got the book from the gaston county library. I know you can order a copy online from barnes and noble, books a million or one of the online book stores. I am 10 months post op Lap RNY and this is the only complication I've had. Even all my labs are normal. If you have any questions let me know, it seems like eon's ago that i was preop. Jenn