Question:
What can cause a staple line distruption besides over-eating?

I'm so upset! Did I go through the agony of that surgery for nothing? Will my insurance cover it or will they say that It's my fault so tooo baaad!    — [Anonymous] (posted on February 22, 2002)

February 21, 2002
I usually don't answer questions because I am new, but I can answer this one. My father had surgery in the early eighties. He was in a car accident and it ruptured his staple line. He just had a revision done last year and has lost almost 200 lbs. He is going for his tummy tuck in March and he looks great. He is on Medicare now and his insurance paid for the revision. Good Luck!
   — Beffy W.

February 22, 2002
Do you have a staple line disruption? It wasn't too clear but it appears like you have one. They are not caused by overeating. Staple lines disrupt when a person is not transected because scar tissue does not form EVER when the stomach is just divided by stapling. The staples may hold forever but can come apart just because the edges do not form a tight seal. The only way to have the scar tissue close off the pouch so that it won't disrupt is by transection. I disrupted at six months post op because I was stapled. I had 8 rows of staples. I lost 68 lbs and at about 6 mos I noticed I could eat a lot more and I did not lose very quickly. I did not over eat. When my surgeon did an upper GI my pouch was still tiny and had not stretched at all. The line had come lose at the top and the food/liquid was overflowing into the old stomach which was still attached. No pain. No symptoms other than increased appetite. No, my insurance did not blame me. Of course they paid for the revision to transected stomach. Now, I am losing steadily again. I am glad I am transected as this will not ever happen again. The revision was to correct a malfunction in my first surgery so the insurance did not question paying for it. It was easier and cheaper than the first rny. Don't dispair because it is fixable but does require another surgery to repair it. It is not your fault. It is just the mechanical failure of not having been transected. If you are transected, then I don't know what would have caused a leak. Good luck!~
   — Marilyn C.

February 22, 2002
Marilyn already said what I'd say, so I'll cut to the chase. Mine disrupted at 5 yrs post-op, about which time it's supposed to be "safe". It took awhile to get my papers to the right ins office, but once there, they called me back in about 3 hours and said, "Just a repair? I don't see a problem with this." I almost fell out of my chair. Gave me plenty of time to build myself up for a new surgery, though! So, my revision was totally uneventful, as far as problems.
   — vitalady