Question:
leak test?
i have read a lot of postings where post ops talk about a leak test after surgery. is this something that everyone has to do? i am kind of nervous about it b/c i can't take liquid med. of any kind withoput throwing it up. — jamiekay76 (posted on April 4, 2006)
April 4, 2006
I am not sure if every surgeon does it but mine does. I am 10 days pre-op
so I am not sure what it taste like. Good luck
— classite
April 4, 2006
I had my leak test the day after surgery. I had to drink the barium that
they used for my preop tests.
— *Malena* M.
April 4, 2006
Yes I had a leak test 3 days after surgery. It tasted really bad but if I
didn't keep it down I would of had to do it again. After he saw there were
no leaks he told me a didn't have to keep it down but by then it stayed
down. I just looked at it as one step more that I had to over come. But you
know what? It tasted really bad but I would drink it everyday if that is
what I had to do to feel the way a feel now. It was all worth it. Good luck
on your journy!!!
— melissagarcia
April 4, 2006
Hello, I did not have to do this test. I think it all depends on the
surgeon........
— seanna
April 4, 2006
I had to do the leak test the day after my surgery and it tasted horrible
but what helped me was holding my breath while swallowing it. I tink i had
to take like 2 sips and a sip of water in between for the bad taste. I
would do it all over again if I had to! ~Melissa~6 weeks post op down 27
lbs.
— WannaBSlim
April 5, 2006
I had six of them because I leaked for 51 days after surgery. My story is
a long one, I need to update it in my profile. I had to have another
surgery in which they found several ulcers on five major organs from that
leak. So my answer to you is to drink whatever you have to make sure that
you don't have a leak -- your life could depend on it.
— lindabaptiste619
April 5, 2006
Surgeons typically test for leaks before you leave the operating room
table; this way, if they find something, it is fixed without a need for any
further surgery (in fact, the instruments and camera is already in you).
The problem with post-operative leak tests is that you have to drink a foul
tasting liquid soon after surgery and then be scanned or x-rayed, often by
equipment that has difficulty with obese patients.
Of course, the incidence of leaks goes down significantly as the experience
of your surgeon increases.
— SteveColarossi
April 6, 2006
I had a leak test the following morning. My surgeon said he checked at the
end of surgery but likes to test again before I was allowed to drink
anything. The barium was very hard to swallow. Especially since it was
the first thing in my mouth in well over 36 hours. I threw it up too. We
just kept trying. I finally did a fast gulp. Not what you really want to
do right away after surgery, but they were going to keep trying and I
wanted to get it over with. Yes, I did throw that back up too.
— MsKeara
April 7, 2006
I had the leak test a few hours after surgery. They gave me a very small
amount of barium and drank it and done. Painless.
— nygiantsfan1969
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