Question:
IS REVISION MORE DANGEROUS THAN REG. SURGERY?

I just read the memorium also, and I wondered if anyone has any stats on revision surgery. Is it a lot more dangerous than first time surgery? It also spooked me to see the number of people dying, especially from blood clots. Isn't that something that is NOT preventable? I would appreciate any info. It seems as though there were a lot who died either of blood clots or pneumonia. I don't really know what the patient or the dr. could do about that. Am I right?    — peppermintp (posted on April 29, 2001)

April 29, 2001
Hi I had a blood clot to my lung...and thank God I am still here....they did all the precautions with me, such as the heparin shots while in the hospital, and the venodyne boots on the legs...i walked from one hour out of the recovery room, until the time when the clot hit my lung (three weeks post op)....Doctors do take precautions, but sometimes, its the luck of the draw, in my opinion....I think that its important to let people know that for those who are prone to clots, there is a device called the greenfield filter...its a tiny thing that looks like a metal tee-pee...its titanium...it gets inserted through your groin and goes into the inferior vena cava, (the largest vein in your body, that sends unoxygenated blood to the heart) it will stay there for the rest of your life...I have one, and I don't even know its there....its supposed to catch any clots that may break off from your legs, and trap them before it reaches your heart, lungs or brain. they insert this in the OR...you will be heavily sedated, not as much as general anesthesia, but much heavier than the sedation for the endoscopy. For people who may have problems, or are concerned that they will have a problem, you may want to run the idea of a filter by your doc...they generally don't like to get involved with this procedure, unless you have a history of clots, but maybe they will start to rethink this, seeing as though so many obese people seem to get clots.
   — lynne S.

April 29, 2001
Yes, revision is more dangerous. Each surgery is more dangerous than the one before. I had lots of 'em. But with revision, the risk of post-op leak triples. A little less than 1% goes to 3%. My husband leaked with his original surgery, so of course, I was really freaking out with my revision. My doc has been doing this for a LONG time, almost 40 yrs, so he is pretty good at avoiding all the common problems, but the leak is pretty unpredictable. But the fact that my husband is here was a pretty good sign to me. And my doc presented on leaks at the ASBS conf last year, so I felt I probably could not be in better hands. The risk of mortality from my comorbs was 100%, so there was no contest for me. As it was, I may as well have had a filling. My revision was nothing. Just a speed bump in my life.
   — vitalady

April 30, 2001
I had a revision done 10/00 after haviing the initial VBG 10/98. The recovery time was longer than the first surgery. I did have complications. The opening closed twice causing me to vomit and dehydrate. The had to do a proceedure to go back in and dilate the opening. However, the weight loss appears to be faster than the initial surgery. I have lost over 90 lbs in 6 months. It is worth the risk.
   — Kim W.