Quest for gastric sleeve - exbandster with complications

I consulted with the Adelaide Surgeon on Friday re my lump/hernia in my belly region and what options are available to me for WLS..

It is a hernia but they cannot see the neck so I need to have a CT done to find that. Also as he will not be back in Darwin until 17 September, he is talking about fixing the hernia and looking down my throat into my stomach to see how all is looking since all the dramas of 2008.

He said I could not have another band - good as I never ever want one again. I asked him what sort of gastric bypass he did. Now this is where it get strange.. He said the band type.. I was totally lost and ask what apart from the band, I mentioned the sleeve and he seemed not too impressed and said something to the effect about a few renegas surgeons taking upon themselves to cut out half stomachs and throw them away all in the name of obesity.. I was taken back abit.. What he does is create a smaller stomach similar to how the band works using stables.... I did not feel comfortable to ask anymore quesitions.. I have never heard of this smaller stomach created from stables before.. I think I will see what the ct says and if it not urgent, look into seeing someone else. Dont get me wrong, he was a nice fellow but I did not feel totally comfortable with him.. Sorry no names.

Has anyone heard this type of surgery??

Cheers

Chook

Subject: Dr Wed 29 Jun 2011, 2:13 am

Thanks Kiwi,

It is nice to know that there might be hope for me to have the sleeve and not doomed to no further WLS , my biggest fear!

When getting banded, Dr Kow warned me that she would abort the operation if she found my liver was a problem and treat that first. Just having that said had me glued to Optifast doing everything possible to ensure all was good. I can still remember waking up and the first thing I said was ""was my liver okay, did I get banded?" It was a serious concern to me, how horrible would it be to go through all that stress and whatnot and then wake up and learn sorry we did not do the surgery.. I would be shattered..

I have a friend who had the bypass with Dr Talbot and she thinks whatever, I need to find the very best surgeon out there for me because of what I been through. How do you go about finding the best qualified, best top gun of sleeve operation??? I keep reading everyone diaries and all have fantastic surgeons.. I do like however, the sound of these surgeons who are using the new technique of adding some type of glue along the staple line to add added support so there is no leakages.. Apart from the professionism of the surgeons, they all sound so very nice and caring.... my list of surgeons is growing daily..

I know I will not elect to have the surgery here in Darwin. I sooner have it down interstate where if anything goes wrong, I have the best facilities and best professionals around or can be called upon.. In Darwin if you get into trouble and they do not have the facilities or the professional, they ususally stable you and then airlifted you interstate for treatement. As time can be precious in such cases, I sooner be in the "big city" and if need be, all they need to do then is call the top guns from the golf course to the hospital..

Again, thank you.. heading off back to the diaries to continue reading which I am thoroughly enjoying :)

Cheers

Chook

Hi Chook

I too had a band that eroded through my stomach and I ended up with a massive abdominal infection, I had my band removed in Sept 2009, my Dr that removed the band offered me a sleeve through the public health system here in New Zealand. So I ended up on the waiting list for a sleeve, problem was I ended up with a hernia in Dec 2009 - my band removal surgeon (who was going to be my hernia fixing surgeon too) fixed my hernia 10 months later (Oct 2010) and he did my sleeve last Monday (June 20th)

Due to my issues with erosion and infection apparently my insides look like a bomb has gone off, I have major scar tissue, adhesions and all my organs are stuck together (due to the infection)

My surgeon on Monday last week said to me before surgery that I may find that I wake up without a sleeve, it would just depend on how fragile my liver is, since it has to be lifted up, my surgeon would not risk damaging my liver. My surgery took 3 hours instead of 2 just because of the extra un-sticking that the Dr had to do

So I woke up from surgery WITH a sleeve YAY but I had an NG tube, my surgeon was waiting for me in recovery to wake up so he could explain the NG tube as it is not something usual for the Doctors over here

Due to the scar tissue he was very worried that I would end up with a leak and I had to have the NG tube in until my leak test x-ray, as having the NG tube in would show them immediately if I had a leak, but I didn't and had the x-ray day 3 after surgery and that looked ok (wasn't a good time, I spent most of the time vomiting up the contrast - but they got one ok picture and are almost 100% sure there was no leak)

On discharge I told my surgeon I was struggling with amounts of water and food and he advised me that at the moment my sleeve is about half the size of a normal new sleeve due to swelling and inflammation and I would have trouble for a week or two and he advised me that he expected me to end up at the emergency room for fluids

So I was discharged on Friday and ended up in the ER yesterday for about 10 hours for a lot of fluids, I was very dehydrated, but I feel great today and will see how I go with the fluids today

So it is not an easy road to go down when you have had issues with a band but I am proof that it can be done successfully

I hope you have a successful meeting with the surgeon and a positive result

Last edited by Kakadu Chook on Sun 31 Jul 2011, 11:47 am; edited 1 time in total

Hello,

I would like to introduce myself - I am 56 female, single and live in the NT. I currently weigh 138kgs and I feel horrible!

I was banded in 2004 by Dr Kow in Adelaide. Over the next four years, I lost close on 45kgs which added to my pre surgery loss (25) totals 70kgs! I was on the crest of ducking under 100kgs barrier twice but each time I got down to 101kgs, I was scheduled for knee replacement surgery and had all my fill out resulting in me bouncing back up to 110kgs. I had one knee done April 2007 and the other April 2008.

I loved my band and what it did for me - At my heaviest, I felt I was in a big, black hole and did not have the courage or the ability to climb out of it.. I foresaw my future, losing my job because of my obesity and living the rest of my life on welfare while getting fatter and fatter. With my knees being so bad, I alway fear I would end up in a chair or something. I could see myself dying a early dead.

I tried to get banded in the NT but the Darwin surgeon was not happy with my size - I as too compact! I am only 163cm!
His gas man suggested I go away and lose 30kgs before he would recommend me for the surgery to the surgeon!!!!! Hello, I had lost that amount twice in my lifetime but the problem is I could never ever keep it any weight loss off! I was 155kgs at the time and got serious depresssed - there is nothing worse than being rejected for obesity surgery!! In the next few months I put on another 15kgs and felt totally doomed. Then one night I saw a current program on gastric banding in Brisbane of a fellow over 200kgs and they still managed to do band him!! This all motivated me to see about the band again, and in the end I elected to fly to Adelaide to see Dr Kow who did eventually put my band in on 4th August 2004. My surgery went wonderfully without any of the problems that were foreseen by the Territory surgeon!!

For a few years afterwards, I use the local surgeon for fills and would see Dr Kow yearly. My weight loss was slow but I have half thyriod and on meds, and I was not into exercising but I was getting there.. In many ways it was good losing the weight slowly as it gave my head time to catch up with my body changes.

2007/2008 I started having trouble with serious reflux which I never had before surgery. Somehow, I could not communicate this to the surgeon or he was not listening, as all he would say take your tablets but the truth was I ended up having trouble keeping them down. I ended up having all my fill out but still I had the reflux problem and it was getting worse. I was coughing most the time, I could feel the gas coming up the back of my throat all the time. I used to be able tolerate 5ml in my 11ml band and even 2ml was too much by the end. I could not lie down to sleep as I was coughing up this flat black coke stuff. I ask, I beg to have a scan or whatever done to see what was happening but each time I was told it was not necessary and just to take your tablets!!! There was no one else in Darwin who specialises in the band.

Leading up to mid of October 2008, I saw the surgeon on numerous occasions because of the band/reflux issues. He did admit me into hospital once because I was seriously dehyrated. I presented myself to Emergency five days later as I as seriously worse. I was transferred under the care of the band surgeon who put a drip in me and commented that well at least your weight is coming off!! I had lost 5kgs in five days!!! I was in hospital for four days, I remember the surgeon coming in and saying he had no idea what was wrong with me but he would have to take the band out which I was more than happy about...... and then it was 10 days later, I woke up in ICU with my family around me telling me I was going to be okay! I thought something had gone wrong while I was in theatre getting the band removed but nothing. I needed to be resusitated while the ICU staff were transferring me to ICU from the Private hospital!! I had not had the surgery yet!

It was indicated that my band rip/torn my stomach with all the coughing and vomitting I was doing in the last week but the ICU staff said that my stomach was eroded, similiar to your inner shorts leg where fabric is worn away through constant rubbing. I was told they needed to cut a wee bit of my stomach away before stitching my stomach up. (I assume they stitch) Then somehow the tube draining the wound came unattached during band removal surgery. For those days I was unconscience in ICU, I was fighting fungi and bacteria infections.They eventually took me back to theatre and performed a procedure where they painstakingly sucked/vacumned my inside out of the infection as much as they could which took 8 hours! I was also found very malnurished.

I had further 10 days in ICU/High dependency and then transferred over to the Rehab Centre for a further six weeks to regain my strength as I was so weak, I could not scratch myself - I do remember thinking I can wiggle my toes!!. I did not know if I would recover totally, I was totally scared. I had some fantastic ICU doctors telling me with time and alot of hard work, I would. Many say I looked like a startled deer in headlights on waking and for days afterwards. I can remember lying in ICU and being frustrated that I had elected to have this surgery for obesity which had resulted in this and was putting my family and friends through this stress/hell of nearly losing me. I, like many had looked at all the statistics for band surgery complications and deaths, and the odds seem okay but when you are lying in that bed, in that position and you see the stress, concern. and everything else in the faces of your loved ones. and match that with being in a ward like ICU where folks are fighting for their lifes with more "significant/real" illnesses, it really hard to justify such surgery! I used that sense of guilt/blame of putting myself through this unnecessary event to motivate me to work really hard in rehab to get back on my feet and back home. I suppose my situation was somewhat different as I had my brother over from Cairns to look after our elderly mother and support me for the whole time I was in hospital. How humbling is it to know your own brother was doing your personal washing?? He was here in Darwin for 11 weeks in all !

Sorry, I know this is very long but I wanted to lay the situation out totally so you know where I coming from. I do not know what my options are at this state but I know I need to do something. I have just discovered that an Adelaide surgeon who does the banding and the sleeve visits Darwin every six weeks. I currently have a hernia above my waist, right side that is causing me some grief and I have make an appointment to see him on his next visit. (July 31) If he goes in to fix the hernia, he might be able to see what sort of condition I am in. I am hoping that as it is nearly three years ago, I hoping that I still have options open for me . All fingers are crossed tightly at this stage :)

I am starting optifast tomorrow to see if I can drop a few kgs before the visit. if nothing else, it might reduce the size of my liver..

Thanks for listening.

Chook!

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