Revision complications!!! Anyone had stent?????

Oh Lisa!   Bless your heart!   My feeding tube is in my old stomach, but I (like you) feel hungry all the time.  I sure pray that I have better luck on healing than you did.  I try to stay optimistic and take one day at a time.  So glad that you are finally healed!  Thanks so much for your response.  mellow

Dear Mellow:

I'm not understanding all you had going on...So this surgery was a revision? From what RNY, or what original procedure? If this was a RNY Revision why would they ever try to do it Lap in the first place? I've been told by more than one doctor when it comes to any revision surgery it should never be done lap.

So I guess what i'm asking is, what is your background? What surgeries have you  had?

Most Dr's don't revise the pouch they extend the common channel because a revision on the pouch is just to dangerous.  Please tell us what all have you had done? I'm sorry I'm just not familiar with your history and I couldn't find anything on your profile.

Thank you so much, please know we are all praying for you and I believe you will steadily improve. I look forward to seeing your additional posts.

JRolfson

Sorry for the confusion J.  I originally had VBG (vertical banded gastroplasty).  Everyone that I knew that had that surgery regained all their weight (me included).  That surgery just stapled off a smaller stomach pouch and had some sort of ring between the upper and lowers stomach portions.  There was no bypass.  My surgeon felt sure he could do the revision to rny lap.  I went in July 3rd and they punctured my small intestine upon inserting the instruments.  They couldn't find the puncture after 90 min. of looking with the scope, so they cut me open - did the repair, but not the bypass.  I healed up and went in Nov. 12 and they again tried lap, but had to go open.  Surgery went well and I started on liquids a few days later.  My fever kept spiking and I felt terrible.  About 8 days after surgery they removed the last drain and I felt liquid running out the hole.  I drank some water and felt it run out on my skin.  My husband patted it with at tissue and it was wet.  I said let's do a test and drank cranberry juice.  Tissue was then tinged red.  I told my nurse and she paged the Dr. on call.  1, 2, 3 a.m. and the first doctor who came in at 6 a.m. knew nothing of my problem.  They consulted a GI doc and he inserted a coated stent from my esophagus through my pouch to my small intestine.  It will stay in place till after the first of the year and hopefully allow the fistulas to heal.  My surgeon and GI doctors disagree on oral nutrition.  My surgeon thinks it would be ok to start clear liquids now.   GI doc says 6 weeks.  Who do I go with?  The data that I have read on the internet seems to support taking in liquids as you heal, but I am going to wait 4-5 weeks anyway because I am paranoid about more problems.  Meantime I get ensure or protein drinks through a feeding tube that is in my old stomach.  The worst problem I have is back pain which they say is "referred" pain from the stent.  Just have to take pain meds and hang on until I heal.
Thanks so much for the prayers!  mellow

I disagree with doing anything involving a staple line when you had the old time gastric banding.  They used  to use a mesh on your stomach during this surgery.  This mesh causes ALL kinds of problems when trying to do a staple line, it often times leaks.  It's just a horror.

I don't quite understand what you mean about not doing anything involving a staple line.  I don't believe any mesh was used.  I take it you have the VSG?  The sleeve?  My surgeon offered me this surgery, but he hadn't done any and my insurance wouldn't pay for it.  My understanding is that the old stomach is totally removed with the sleeve.  I have a feeding tube in my old stomach through which I am receiving nutrition.  One of the other posters had a leak and she had a feeding tube routed to her intestines, so I guess there is still a way even without your old stomach.

My surgeon said they checked for leaks - saw some air and stapled and overstitched until all was tight.  The leaks developed sometime after the surgery - when - know one knows.  Just taking one day at a time and trying to heal.
 
Best of luck to you, mellow

Most people do not realize that when they did the old stomach stapling they used a mesh product during those days.  Tissue grows around and through it, it can't be removed.  When you try to do a staple line through it a good number of times it will develop a leak.

A friend of mine had the old stomach stapling and she didn't know she had it either.  She couldn't get anything other than an adjustable lap band because it was too dangerous to do a staple line.. again, the leaks.  I did a ton of research on it at the time, about a year ago.  That's where I learned that most do not realize that mesh is in there.  You can't see it until you actually look at the stomach.  There is no test I am aware of that can identify it, nothing replaces going in and looking.

The doctors that did not use the mesh are often times unaware it is there.  Probably 95% of the time the mesh was used during the old stomach stapling.

There is another person that was posting here a long time ago.  She had the Molina Band.  I didn't know what a Molina band was and did a little reading.  It is that same mesh material used and that particular technique was used by Dr. Molina.  The mesh was universal, the surgical technique was used by a Dr. Molina.  I also discovered that there are surgeons that actually specialize in doing revisions on a Molina band.  But then I came to find out that all they do is to do an adjustable band over it.

That mesh caused a world of problems for people.

Thanks for the info on the mesh.  Somewhere here I have the operative notes from the old gastroplasty.  I am going to find those and see if there was mesh used in my case.  Thanks, mellow

Since I researched this so long ago I don't recall the name of the mesh, if I think of what they were using most then I'll let you know.  I might have some old links, I'll look.

I do recall that it was really hard to get a secure staple line over this mesh stuff.  Leaks are common. :o(

Dear Mellow:

Thank you for explaining your situation....Wow, you have really been through it...I have to tell you, after you went through the first puncture in your intestine that took a lot of desire and guts to heal up and go for it again. I commend you.

I, like you, had a stapling back in the early, early 80's...the stapling came apart about 10 years after the original surgery...So in 1990 I returned to my original surgeon to find out what happened, they did all the tests, EGD is where it showed my staples had pulled out. When the Dr's told me they wanted to do a revision, I decided to check with as many Dr's I could to see how they would approach it. Almost all of them said revise to a RNY and most definately open because of scar tissue from the stapling. Sometimes when doing Lap the scar tissue can't be seen under the laproscope and is missed when it should be cleaned out.

I had this revision and stayed thin 15+ years. Now I have bounced up again in weight so I'm researching again. And again, I can't find a Dr who will do this surgery Lap...I really would like to but every doctor I've discussed it with, due to prior surgery they won't even consider it say it's to dangerous.

Thanks so much for your story.

JRolfson

J, In your research have you read about Stomaphyx or the ROSE procedure?  My surgeon says the results with the Stomaphyx haven't been that great so far, but I feel like it is the future of WLS.  It is done endoscopically.  The instruments are new and the opening can't be too big or they can't make the restriction needed.  My surgeon checked to see if I might be a candidate, but it was too large.  It is like anything else - it will evolve and improve in years to come.  It would be wonderful to have such a non-invasive and safe route.  Who knows - there may be places doing the Stomaphyx now that have had better success than my surgeon has seen.  This weight loss battle is never ending.  Right now - all I can think about is getting strong and able to eat something by mouth again.  I can't even think about losing, although I have lost over 25 lbs.

All my best, mellow