Stomach stapling done in the 90's Question..HELP!!!

Hi, 

   Opps, I posted on wrong board, I was told to post my questions here.. I am new to this site.. looking for some help..
         I had Stapling done years ago, my records say 95.. it can't be, I am sure..I think more like 92, but to get to the point....My records say banding, A  Nurse said the Doctor who did my surgery could have been just calling it banding,  but it may really be stapling..Has anyone ever hear of that?? I am lost....I know it was stapling for sure...

      I did pretty good for several years.. I lost a little over 200 pounds. Then started gaining weight very slowly after having a hysterectomy. Then faster...I have kept off about 140 pounds of what I lost..But I now weigh 246. I am very short, only 5 feet. Has anyone ever been able to have a band or any type of weight loss surgery after having a stomach stapling?? I need to lose weight!!! I am a diabetic, on pills now, but Doctor is thinking of putting me on insulin, I also have high blood presure, Ect...

      I do have an appointment to see a Doctor Sept 12th, but His Nurse didn't sound very encouraging..But she is very sweet. I have heard wonderful things about the Doctor I'm seeing, and his Nurse. Please help me with answers to this.. thank you ever so much...        Thank very much very any help.. Alizka

Hey, my name is Terry; I had a gastric stapling in 1980 also knows as vertical-banded-gastroplastyVGB.  I too lost a lot; I went from the 242lbs to 107lbs and kept it off for 9 + yrs, no problems ever. It was great. In December of 1989 I was in a bad relationship and perfed my staple line. The doctor offered to rebuild my pouch or take it down. The man I was with wanted me to take it down. Big mistake! 2 weeks later he was gone and the weight immediately started back up. I***** I went back to original doctor, Dr Robert Brewer, he told me he could do a Rouen y gastric bypass and I would set for life..wrong! He opened me up and told me I was full of ahesions and never let anyone else operate on me.  Not only did he do a bypass that he told me he could not do but he did it wrong.  I been in a an awful fix ever since. Please be careful. I have heard good things about revisions and bad things, I was just one of the unlucky ones.

It sounds like you had vertical banded gastroplasty. It is stapling and the opening is banded to keep it from stretching. There are possibilities for revisions, but you probably need some tests first to check the status. You may have a disrupted staple line which could cause regain.
I had a vbg in 1996, but due to complications I am scheduled for a takedown Sept. 18. My complications pretty much rule out any other surgery and I am no longer tolerating solid food.
As the other post on here said, please be very cautious if you have a revision to another type of weight loss surgery. But for most people without other complications, a revision is possible.
You can also post on the main board as well as here. You will get lots of help from everyone.
Good luck.
Kim

I had RNY in 1986.  I was a single staple line. A small pouch was created and a small connection was made to my lower intestines.  I lost 221 lbs in one year and another 40 lbs 2 years later. I weighed 150 for a very long time. Something changed this past year, a sudden weight gain, a painful distended stomach, a hernia.  I have a fistula which has connected to new with the old stomach, and hernias that are going to be repaired on Sept 9th. A fistula is a med necessity. Hernias are a med necessity. My pouch will be slightly modified.
Have you been checked for a fistula? ??  You can have one for 15 years. Insurance covers this with the correct ICD 9 codes.
    
   

This is so interesting...I had my "stomach stapled" in 1982, lost 120lbs and within a few years gained it back and have lived all my adult life morbidly obese.  I was about 24 at the time.  I just happen to find this website after all these years and now I am seeking to "fix" whatever was done.  I tried stomaphyx, but had no restriction, so now I am trying to get Anthem BC to approve a band over my old stapling.  Of course there are no records anymore and I was so young at the time, that I am not really sure what was done.  All I was told was that the MD stapled off the top 1/4 of my stomach and then hooked up the intestine to the stapled off pouch.  Now what is that??!!

It sounds like what I had done in 1981 and I don't know what it's called, but it's a bad surgery because of a number of problems. One of the problem is that the inestine is looped and if you get a staple line disruption, you will have food circulating from your pouch to your lower stompach and the back into your pouch. It's also common to get acid or bile reflus from this set up. If you have a staple line disruption like most do, it also makes you feel hungry all the time because of the leakage into the lower stomach.

I'm getting a revision to DS Sept. 17 with Dr. John Rabkin, I would suggest you talk to him and Dr. Anthone in Omaha, they are two of the best DS revision surgeons. I'm sure there are others, but those are two I have had contact with and they are very knowledgeable about our particular surgey and it's problems.

Best wishes,

Kerry

I suspect I know what part of the problem will be for a revision.

In the days where you had it done they used a mesh band, not a hard ring but a fabric.  It is still used today for muscle repairs but they pretty well found out it doesn't work for stomach banding.  They would staple off part of your stomach and use a mesh band around a small portion of it.  The staples would break and you would lose restriction.

Today if you have a muscle tear they can use this mesh around the muscle and the muscle tissues grows around the band.  Same thing with your stomach.

The problem is, it's hard to do a staple line through that mesh material.  Many docs just won't do it because the risk of leaks can be so great.  But typically you can get an adjustable Lap Band.  Not my favorite option for WLS but it does work in some people.

Regardless of who you go to make verrrry sure they are experienced with a great track record in revisions.  Revisions are harder to do and not just anyone can do them and especially if it is a staple line through a mesh band.

I just want to thank everyone who answered my questions here.. I sure hope I did this right as I am new here. Thank you again....Please keep the answers coming to help me decide what to do..."Alizka"  Magyargal

Alizka,

I had stomach staping done back in 1980-81 can't remember for sure, but I've had a staple line disruption for a very long time and about 2 months ago decided I wanted to get it fixed. There are only a few surgeons with the skill and experience to tackle a revision like mine or yours for that matter. After lots of reading and searching, here's the three I'm talking to:

Dr. Ungson - Mexico

Dr. Rabkin - SF CA

Dr. Anthone - Omaha, NE

I'm sure there are others, but these are the three I'm confortable with and have been able to commincate with.

I would also suggest to frequent the Duodenal Switch forum on this site and pose your question there. Only the most skilled surgoens do the DS and if they do the DS they will also be able to do RNY and only the most skilled DS surgeons will do a revision to DS. They are the cream of the crop so to speak and if you want a revision, you really want only the best of the best.

Good luck in your search,

Kerry

Hi Kerry,
      It seems that I had the same type of surgery you had. I just found out today when I went to my Doctor's appointment. This was my first visit with him.
       I didn't tell him I am having minor stomach pain as I think he may not approve me for any type of surgery. It is not that bad. Dr. Sandor  thinks he can help me. Thank God. I have to go for a swallow test first, I don't know anything about that test. Also I may need  a Endoscopy test. Sorry about spelling. How did your Surgery go? I Pray well. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you for your help. Alizka