Question:
Have you heard of having the stoma cauterized to scar so that it will shrink?

Hi, I posted before because my weight loss seems VERY slow, I am hungry & can eat ALOT! I have only lost 15 lbs since my surgery, which was more than 3 months ago. Many of you replied (thank you!)& said I should see my surgeon, so I did. He said nothing was wrong, but did send me for an upper GI & guess what? The barium went straight through me! So I have an overly large stoma. The folks who work at my weight loss clinic told me they had read on the net about having the stoma cauterized to scar it so that it will shrink, but they were unable to find the link. Have any of you heard about this? Do you have a link or info about how I can find out more? Many thanks, Suzanna    — Suzanna M. (posted on March 22, 2004)

March 22, 2004
I the doctor who was 'experimenting' in this is in Vermont. look on here for 'female' doctors in vermont.. forgot her name. IF, your doctor is unable to do this; another way to fix the stoma problem is with a lap band.. which is what my doctor did (Dr. Johnson - tulsa ok) BUT I would be concerned also with the slow weight loss, were you also a proximal?
   — star .

March 22, 2004
As fast as one can drink the lovely tasting barium it would go right through. Any liquids go right through our stomas. He needs to scope you and be sure what size your stoma is. I would not let him screw with something this unproven. Are you eating a lot of high calorie liquids? Protein drinks can be packed with tons of calories if you aren't having the right kind. Are you eating real solid food? If not then get to it. Eat steak and chicken etc. Things that are likely to stay put for a while and make you feel full and no drinking anywhere near a meal. Be cautious of diving into something new.
   — zoedogcbr

March 22, 2004
Yes, I am proximal - 100cm. was bypassed.
   — Suzanna M.

March 22, 2004
My understanding is that there's not a lot they can do surgically to repair an enlarged stoma. It's very risky to do something that could cause even more scar tissue there. However, I have heard of people having the stoma banded as a way to make it smaller. Even then, it seems that most doctors don't want to touch the original operation and it's hard to find someone to help with a revision. I also think what Chris said below makes sense. The barium test would show if you had leaks or blockages, but since it's liquid, it's SUPPOSED to go right through your stoma, so I'm not sure what that would prove. I think you might want a second opinion on that, maybe a scope. If worse comes to worst, you are not completely lost - you still have restricted stomach size and malabsorption so you still will lose weight but it's going to take a lot more effort on your part if the stoma is too large because you will get hungrier quicker, so you'll have to be even better than most patients at making good choices. I think Chris is probably right about sticking to things like chicken and beef that are high protein, low cal, will take longer to digest and will leave you feeling fuller - hopefully. Good luck, I feel for anyone who goes through this operation only to still feel hungry so early out.
   — sandsonik

March 22, 2004
I will actually be having this procedure in the very near future. I had a stricture and the doc that opened my up, opened me too much so my surgeon (not the same doc that did the dilitation) suggested this procedure. I am actually very excited about it because he has had much sucess with it. Jessica 285/155/128
   — Jessica D

March 22, 2004
You may want to do a search on the Q&A - there is another lady out of Mass. that had a procedure done on her large stoma. Her doctor used an out-patient procedure. I believe her name is Elaynawannabethin (or something like that) I did a search on Large Stoma and found her and Helen's information. For those of us with the large stoma it is VERY discouraging - but I'm feeling a new sense of hope now that there are a couple of folks that have had success with repair procedures. Good Luck!
   — Kelly V.