In the hospital for reversed RNY complications. Need help! Doctors not talking to each other.

If you are unable to travel, Dr K isn't an option.  Which hospital are you at?  Since you're seeing Dr McMahon, I'm assuming you're at Swedish???  

Dr Srikanth is one of the very few revision surgeons in our area.  I've heard nothing but good about him, but he's at Overlake in Bellevue.  

I have gastroparesis and achalasia too.  It's a miserable situation.  I hope you get some help very soon.  Please keep posting.

Yes, at Swedish. I will check Dr. Srikanth out. I am a little nervous about having a G/J/G-J tube placed by a GI surgeon or my stomach removed by a thoracic surgeon. Isn't it usually mandatory to go with a bariatrics doctor, especially with cases as complex as mine? They are treating my reversed RNY  (to the extent that it is reversed; taken down is probably a better phrase) as meaning I don't need a bariatric surgeon, just to see their specialists in motility. Would you recommend consulting with Dr. Srikanth before doing any surgery? I'm at a bad place where I can't eat/drink enough to be let out to get another bariatric opinion. And they really don't want to let me go home with TPN; they want the GI or thoracic doc to put in a tube instead.

I am just hoping that the domperidone works and I can get out. 

My GI doctor is Dr Mohan at Overlake. He is treating me for GI dysmotily and is anti surgery since he feels the surgery is the cause of my motility issues. He's very conservative. My bariatric doctor is Dr Hunter at Virginia Mason and is a respected gastric surgeon. I dont know if either if them could help, but you can always ask. If you can't get dr Srikanth to consult, I think David Patterson is at Swedish now and he's a motility specialist. I would insist on a peer to peer review of your case. If all these docs would sit down for 20 min, they might get on the same page.
As far as a thoracic surgeon removing your stomach: your esophagus is in the thoracic cavity (chest) and will directly connect to your intestinal tract, so yes, I think it makes sense, since the heart and lungs are essential to life and could be injured in surgery if the area is operated on by someone less experienced with that area.

At dinner last night I was talking to my son's best friend who is a family practice doctor (his dad was chief of staff at Harborview) and he told me about a Dr Pelligrini at UW Hospital.  Says he's great with complicated GI issues and can help direct to other resources.  

Also at UW is Patch Dellinger, who is known for RNY revisions. Because my doctor is in the Swedish system, I don't go to UW very much. 

I am now being cared for by Dr. Patterson and he's great (he's a bit overwhelming at first). A total motility expert. He works with Dr. McMahon and also has a thoracic surgeon he likes quite a bit for surgery, Dr. Brian Louie. My primary care doctor realized how absolutely terrified I was by hearing a bunch of different information and got them all to talk. They then talked with me. Huge weight off my shoulders to feel  confident in my team again.  Dr, Patterson wants me to try domperidone (a motility drug no longer made in the US; I had to order from Canada) and is also very conservative about surgery as well. He made a really good case for how successful domperidone is (he sees  a lot of the absolute worst motility cases, I have a feeing) and I feel confident again.  He would like to send me home eating, without TPN or a J tube. Which is what I'd prefer too, obviously. 

I probably do need to be followed by a Bariatrics doc. I'll find him or her when I get out. Thanks again for the names. 

 

Glad you got some answers and Dr Patterson is on board!