Question about Intussusception... Am I a Ticking Time Bomb?

Hello All...

I haven't been to these forums in years but am coming here for guidance after having my Gastric Bypass in July of 2007.  I used these forums in the past to help me through some really tough times when I first was healing and learning.

On January 10th (last month) I was taken to the emergency room with severe adominal pain that I had been having for two days. I swore up and down that it was a stomach virus but I knew it couldn't hurt the way it did. After they performed both an X-ray and a CT-scan they found an intussusception in my upper left quadrant (at the site of the surgery location).

An intussusception is, "a medical condition in which a part of the intestine has invaginated into another section of intestine, similar to the way in which the parts of a collapsible telescope slide into one another.^[1] This can often result in an obstruction." (according to wikipedia)

Long story short they did emergency surgery. And it was open surgery unfortunately. And it wasn't my bariatric surgeon doing it because I made the choice of going to the wrong hospital. (another story for another time)

BUT HERE IS THE KICKER. WHEN THEY GO INSIDE ME THE INTUSSUSCEPTION HAS MAGICALLY DISAPPEARED!!! THE SURGERY WAS A WASTE! EVERYTHING IN MY ABDOMEN IS COMPLETELY NORMAL!

They sew me back up and I have to have four weeks of recovery for nothing!

So here is where you guys come in. (Sorry for the long story) I have been to my surgeon who performed the intussusception surgery, a gastroenterologist, and my bariatric surgeon and nobody can give me a straight answer. I've heard that I'll be fine to maybe this will happen again but they can never be sure.

My bariatric surgeon is putting me on Nexiuum for the stomach pain which is still present (though not as bad) but I'm not sure if that will help the problem. I'm going to another gastroenterologist for a second opinion per my bariatric surgeon's advice. But basically I'm at a loss for what to do.

Actually what I'm doing right now is reading medical journals which are scaring the hell out of me. Except none of them ever talk about adults that present with this and then when operated on magically no longer have the problem.

CAN ANYONE OUT THERE PLEASE HELP ME?!? Has anyone heard of intussusception and knows of its effects on Gastric Bypass.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. The "crazies" are really getting to me and I definitely need some support right now.

Wow that is crazy. I had never heard of that. I sure hope they are able to get you well. When something like that disappears that would drive me crazy  because i would wonder why. Will say a prayer for you. good luck.

Hi, I worked as a veterinary technician for a number of years and had a few cases that we thought might be an intussusception but did not do emergency surgery  and everything was fine, the dogs all lived happy healthy lives as far as I am aware. There was one case though where we did absolutely have to do emergency surgery and of course in that situation you can't give an enema before, for obvious reasons, and that of course makes the surgery very dangerous. Just for contamination reasons. People don't usually know,or think about the fact that dogs have pretty much the same make up as us. They even take the exact same meds, from the same pharmeceutical companies,(bayer,etc.) it's just labeled "not for human use". The only reason I'm telling you all this, is because even though "it's different", it's still pretty much the same. The surgeon had to go in and literally cut the section of the intestine out and sew the sections back together. I am sure that human surgeons have a much more advanced way of doing it, but all in all , it is a very  tedious, time consuming, and scary surgery. Anyway, I just wanted you to know there is somebody out here who knows what you're talking about, and I hope you have an uncomplicated recovery. Just think, if you had not had the surgery and you still had the intussuseption, you would absolutely not survive. I know it sucks but it's better than the alternitive. Oh, and whether you had a gastric bypass or not when you're intestines are in that condition nothing is gonna get through. If you ever do have the surgery, as long as the surgery is successful, you will more than likely have to follow a diet plan much like GB until you heal. Sorry for running on and on.  GOOD LUCK  =)   

i had that and it went away on its own, I was told it was a common thing and people that never had surgery sometimes gets it.

I was an OR nurse for 9 years, and while they were not as common as some other bowel obstructions I have operated on several during those years.  Since they are just bowel telescoping into itself they can resolve on their own.  Having one once might predispose you to having it again if that part of the bowel wasnt removed during surgery because the bowel has some kind of weakness that caused it in the first place.  Or sometimes it's a frea****urance and never happens again.  It's not a cut and dry situation.

The ones that we operated on were not post RNY, so that doesn't neccesarily mean anything.  The majority of post RNY patients we operated on for bowel obstructions were caused from adhesions.

When I went back for my follow-up visit with the surgeon after my ER scare, I was told that they strongly suspected it was caused by Intussusception.  I've been researching it ever since.

It happens more often with open RNY.  I also found out that with non-ops, it's more commonly seen in children, not adults.

Like yours, my symptoms resolved on their own, but I hate feeling like it could happen again at any time. 

Wow... I can't believe you posted to this... I still suffer from my surgery from this. May I ask, when you had your ER scare, did they actually go in and operate?

They didn't have to operate on me because (thankfully) things slid back into place.  The ER doc ordered a CT with contrast and by the time the contrast was in my system the gut had moved back where it was supposed to be.  The only real evidence that they had that anything had even happened to me was the mesentary was swollen and my lactic acid levels were more than double normal values.

The surgeon that I saw for followup (very experienced) said that the symptoms and my previous history of episodic pain made him believe that it was intussusception.  He said that there's really nothing that they can do about it except wait and see.  If it happens again, I'm to hightail it to the ER so that I can get prompt treatment.

FYI from the Mayo Clinic website:

Intussusception (in-tuh-suh-SEP-shun) is a serious disorder in which part of the intestine — either the small intestine or colon — slides into another part of the intestine. This "telescoping" often blocks the intestine, preventing food or fluid from passing through. Intussusception also cuts off the blood supply to the part of the intestine that's affected.