Question:
What is the difference between a staple line leak right after surgery

that can kill you and the staple line disruptions that happen later and apparently just cause weight gain, but are not major emergencies? I know in the latter case, you have already healed up, but can't you still leak bile into the abdominal cavity?    — Susan B. (posted on February 22, 2002)

February 22, 2002
If any of the connections come apart in the first few days post-op, any food/fluids leak into the abdominal cavity (where they most definitely do not belong) and cause peritonitis & collapsing a lung or two in short order. This happened to my husband and is referred to as a post-op leak. His came apart at the stoma, but they were able to fix it. Whew. A staple line disruption occurs along the staple lines (no matter how many, no matter if oversewn) that divides the pouch from the stomach. If the pouch has been transected (divided, cut away from) the stomach, this can (almost) not happen, once past 10 days or so. However, if the stomach is just stapled into two segments, the disruption occurs in about the same spot every time (gives you a clue that it is a weak spot, not weak character) and the food misses its chance to be malabsorbed, and so creates full absorption when it passes through the original digestion/absorption process. This one happened to me.
   — vitalady