Leak in stomach

My sister in currently in the hospital due to a leak in her stomach.... 9 months after her VSG!!!  Does anyone have any input or recovery stories they would like to share?  It has been soo stressful for her and our entire family.  I guess I'm just trying to figure out how long this nightmare will last. 

Thank you :)

I'm so sorry!  I didn't even know this could happen so far out...good reality check for everyone to be diligent.

I just spent 2 months in the hospital and I can totally relate to how scary and frustrating this can be. I met a lot of patients that had bowel reconstruction due to tears, blockages and other similar stuff and if she is treated as they were I'm going to guess 2-6 weeks depending on how long it went on and what level of infection she might have in her body. I would image the leak is just a matter of surgery to close it and then lots of antibiotics to deal with infection.  Everyone I met (and I had a cousin that just went through a bowel reconstruction due to it tearing) has recovered and are doing great ****ep in touch with a few).  

I will pray for your sister and family.  I know it's scary now but please keep faith.  She is in the right place for treatment and just needs time to heal.

God bless!

Thank you for your thoughtful words and your input :)

Oh crap that sucks so bad.  She'll get past it.  Lots of patience weathering the storm.  Not her fault ..leak from surgery /cutting/ not getting a tight sealed staple line...Leaks do NOT randomly happen..even the bestest most experienced bariatric surgeon causes leaks! Some are expert liars about #1 how leaks are caused, and #2 how many patients of theirs sustain leaks...right to a patients face..lie. Must think we're all idiots huh!  

...nothin she did, or didn't do could of prevented it... so don't let her blame herself ok...end of story!!...oops unless she was into swallowing razor blades, or a sword swallower by profession then yup she DID IT ,-)

A leak discovered at 9 months post op tho is negligence, malpractice. A gal posted here a year or so ago her leak was diagnosed at 6 months post op and warning everybody about getting a leak that far out...I was like WTF? WEIRD right.. cuz in 2009 I wrote a blog on LEAKS and STRICTURES...impossible 6 months out!! I contacted her and we engaged in numerous PMs ...come to find out which she never told anyone here ...she had symptoms of a LEAK since 2 weeks post op!! .. never told her surgeon , went to the emergency room, symptoms were dismissed as transitory and  "normal" after reading complaints of other VSG surgery complaints.

I don't know if your sister  is a member here on OH...but if she woulda complained here about symptoms...you can be dang sure ONE OF US or one of the numerous leak survivors here would have told her a helluva lot sooner than 9 months to GET HELP!! Majority of leaks are diagnosed within 4.5 weeks post op ...spilt milk

She's on the mend, in good hands now. How long this lasts depends on surgeon strategies they try/ use to seal that hole up. Do ya know if they are gonna use a stent on her?  Fibrin glue? not much luck with them in general. Stents migrate (most leaks up at the eso-gastric area gravity I figure cause em to move) lotsa pain when they do migrate, fibrin glue wont adhere after the fact..the hole is open and is scar tissue now why suturing leaks post op is out of the question too. can't suture scar tissue.  

Most leak survivors Ive read and Ive read a bunch... do better with JP drains. Takes time, like around a month or two depending on how big the leak is...Im guessing quite small since it took her 9 months to get a diagnosis. maybe with TPN givin her stomach a rest from digestion so the drain can be free of food the leak eventually adheres/seals/closes on its own.  Only problems with JPs Ive read about...PITA takes TIME!! cant eat for a while. The JP drain/s can get pushed into/placed right up on that leak and sucks off it...never allowing it to close. So gotta have it repositioned...meanin wasted time needing more time. 

Yes indeed a nightmare good word!...depressing, and stressful times for her..no doubt angry VSG! ...keep in close touch with her..she will need you! ...and she will HEAL...this leak bein a distant memory of her post VSG life...she don't know that NOW of course but... she will get past this, survive and rock the hell outta her sleeve like all leak survivors do!  

Thank you so much for replying !!  All you said has made me feel more at ease and her recovery.  Update:  She is a home now. Pardon me if I don't use the correct medical terminology :)  She currently has a PICC line that is giving her all the nutrients she needs and still has a drain by her chest area to continue draining the abscess.  She is supposed to see her VSG doctor tomorrow and get his opinion as to how she treat this.  I say to let it heal on its own, but I heard the VGS doctor is thinking of putting a stint !  I guess we will see tomorrow.....

Thanks again for all the info and keep the prayers coming :)

A leak USUALLY develops immediately after surgery BUT may not get detected until MONTHS later.  There is a lady NovaScotia who had a leak found.  There was another who went from LapBand revision and developed.  Both women are YEARS out from surgery, all healed up and loving their VSG lives.  I'll see if I can get them to come post and put your mind at ease.

The GREAT news is that once it's caught and treated there is a GREAT chance of recovery.

The BAD news is that it can take awhile to heal.

thank you soo much for your information :)

What was her symptoms and how was it found??? Hope she recovers soon please keep us posted.... Have faith.

She had been feeling weak... and looked pail for a few weeks. But what didn't make her think it was her Sleeve was that she was having shoulder pain?  Her pain got so bad that she went to regular Dr. and he thought she might have 'tendonitis' on her shoulder.  He gave her pain meds with then irritated her stomach really bad causing her pain and irritation each time she ate something as simple as water.  She went back to the Dr. and they prescribed a med to 'coat' her stomach so it can hopefully stop the stomach irritation.  Well, that didn't work. And the shoulder pain continued.  I went to see her about a week & 1/2 later and she looked horrible! She was pale/yellow and looked like she had lost soo much weight in just one week!  She then tells me that she literally hadn't eaten for over a week & 1/2.... I rushed her to the ER.  They took a chest X-ray and was told she had pneumonia and started treatment right away.... but the shoulder pain continued with an extreme amount of now back pain ?!  We sat in the ER for about 3 hours and none of the pain would go away.  Her blood pressure was extremely low and they could not regulate it, she was put in the ICU.  She then was given a Cat Scan and that's when they found 'liquid/abscess' by her stomach area.  A drain was immediately placed and the smell was horrendous!!!!!

After a few more days the were able to give her another Cat Scan and that now showed and revealed the leak.   Three days later the gave her another chest extra and noticed that there was more abscess and other drain had to placed in another area.  She is finally home with a PICC Line and still one drainage tube near her chest.  She will be seeing her VGS Dr. tomorrow to see what the plans will be....