help a general question well its complicated

good afternoon

my name is bonnie i am 45 years old and i have a difficult story:

BMI: 46.6

In February 2004 i was scheduled to have open gastric bypass surgery. When i woke after surgery i was told i had scar tissue on my stomach and they weren't comfortable doing surgery. I was sent to a complex bariatric surgeon and he sent me for an endoscope test(early spring 2004) the gastroenterology Dr approved for the RNY. of course i was frightened to have this happen again and didn't pursue surgery. ok fast forward 14 years and i feel i am in the right place i have called for and forwarded my records to a surgeon willing to look at then and maybe take me as a patient. i feel i can't be the only person this has happened too. PLEASE PLEASE any advice going forward?

I imagine you'll have to repeat tests with the new surgeon. I'd be leery if he made a decision based on 14 year old medical records. Not much more to offer other than that. Until you meet with the new surgeon- it's all a big question mark.

HELLO AND THANK YOU HE WONT BE MAKING SURGERY DECISION BASED ON THESE RECORDS ITS THE DECISION TO TAKE ME AS A PATIENT. I WILL HAVE MORE TESTS BUT I HAVE HAD NO ABDOMINAL SURGERIES SINCE 04 AND I'M TOLD SCAR TISSUE DOESN'T CHANGE A LOT SO IF THAT'S TRUE I AM SOMEWHAT HOPEFUL. I HOPE TO HEAR SOON (:

scar tissue doesn't get better but it does continue to form so there is likely more there than there was before.

The good news is that weight loss surgery today is safer than ever before! None of us can really know what a new surgeon will decide about your case, but it is very worthwhile for you to find out, one way or the other. You will need current testing, I'm quite sure. I also suggest consulting with a bariatric Surgeon of Excellence, as this designation indicates extensive and highly skilled bariatric surgical experience. You may as well consult with the most experienced doc you can find, as he or she may very well have dealt with this type of thing before, and hopefully may know how best to successfully navigate your surgery, scar tissue and all. Good luck!

Have you had other abdominal surgeries that caused the scar tissue?

I hope you get good news from your new doctor. Keep us posted!!

HERE,S MY SURGERY HISTORY I HAVE BEEN SO ANXIOUS THIS WEEK WAITING TO HEAR FROM DR. HE'S REVIEWING MY RECORDS BEFORE I SIGNED UP FOR HIS WEIGHT LOSS SEMINAR WHICH IS THE FIRST STEP. OK IN 1993 I HAD PANCREATITIS DUE TO GALL STONES.I WAS VERY ILL I HAD MY GALLBLADDER OUT LAPAROSCOPY IN 1993. IN 1998 HAD TUBAL LIGATION LAPAROSCOPIC. I HAD A HYSTERECTOMY BUT THE INCISION WAS A BIKINI CUT((LOW CUT)). THE LAST SURGERY WAS MY ATTEMPTED RNY. MY SURGEONS DECIDED THEY WEREN'T COMFORTABLE ATTEMPTING. SO THEY REFERRED TO A MORE COMPLEX DR. HE SENT TO A GASTROENTEROLOGY DR. HE DID THE ENDOSCOPE TEST AND TOLD ME I COULD IN FACT SAFELY HAVE WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY. I WAS SO AFRAID OF DOING THIS AGAIN I DIDN'T PURSUE IT. LIFE HAPPENED AND I AM NOW IN A GOOD PLACE AND READY TO TRY TO TAKE THIS JOURNEY. THE DR((DR O'MALLY)) LOOKING AT MY RECORDS HAS DONE OVER 4,000 SURGERIES AND IS DIRECTOR OF BARIATRIC SURGERY AT HIGHLAND HOSPITAL IN ROCHESTER NY. SO ANXIOUS I AM HOPEFUL HE WILL ACCEPT ME AS A PATIENT.

I had severe scar tissue from a surgery when I was 30. I am currently 45 and 8 weeks post op RNY.

The scar tissue was a issue but they cleared it out of the way. They warned me I might have a sleeve instead but it did all work out. The removal of scar tissue did complicate things, made the surgery longer and my pain was a it more sever but it is done and over and today I am doing great. It is like other things.. a mountain you must climb but scar tissue will not stop them any more.

Go on with the journey and they will talk to about it.

All will be well and worth it! I went through Hamilton St Jo'.

bonniejoepaige, I hope yu have a great surgeon and is able to do your surgery. Good Luck and prayers to you.

When I was 21 (in 1997) I was in a very bad car accident and was comatose for a month with, among other things, a broken jaw that had to be wired shut. Comatose with a broken jaw means they placed a tube directly through my abdominal wall into my stomach, and that's how I "ate" for three months.

When I had my first consult with my surgeon I joked that she could just use my existing scar. She said probably not, it was a little too low for what she needed. But after I woke up from surgery she told me she had indeed gone through that scar, and the reason it was there was that my ribs were really low on my torso. She also told me that my abdomen was full of scar tissue from the long-ago stomach Tube, and surgery had been longer and more complicated than she anticipated. However, she was able to still complete it laparoscopically.

Point: my surgeon was able to work around 20 years' worth of scar tissue. I'm sure yours will do as well. :)