Champ2131

My wife had surgery on 4/8/10. After 2 days we returned home and things were going normal. On the 4th day home she woke up in the middle of the night with a 103 temp. We called the Dr. and went to the ER. They did some tests and discovered she had a leak (4/14/10). She had a revision surgery that morning using fatty tissue to patch the leak area (the leak is right at the top of her stomach). After 4 days in the ICU, they did some more tests and discovered the leak was not repaired but it was now "contained". She has a drain at the site of the leak, and a JP Tube. The next step they took was to place a stent over the leak. The stent was a covered stent and slipped down, they adjusted it twice, still slipping both times. Next they ordered a 15cm stent and that slipped too, just below the leak site. So they went back in and placed another 15cm stent inside the existing stent, this too fell. Finally, they placed a partially uncovered stent inside (3 stents now) and this one has seem to have stayed in place. We got released from the hospital on 5/7/10. Yesterday we noticed some cloudy drainage coming from the drain where the leak is. We went for an x-ray and the stent is still in place, but some fluids may be getting through. The Dr. recommended we go back to only the JP feedings and no more clear liquid diet. From anyone who had a leak and repair, how long will this last until I can feel safe? And the Dr. seems to think there is no danger and we are on a good path to recovery, but I am seriously worried sick.

My wife had the feeding tube removed on Monday, that was the last hurdle regarding the leak. She still has some abdominal pain from the 2nd surgery. But she is moving around great and doing a little more each day. So from the date of the initial surgery, she is down 50lbs, although alot of it was from not being able to eat at all during that time. Thank you to everyone for your support and if anyone ever comes across someone posting about a leak, I consider myself well versed now, so I'd love to lend support/advice as well.

We've been home for a week now, she is getting better and better everyday, we just called the doctor today to see about getting the feeding tube and stent removed. Things are going good now.

Blood tests show everything is ok, no infection.

I sure hope so, she went through 2 procedures in 2 days, both with anestesia, so I'm trying to get her to move around a bit and the blood test results will tell us alot....regarding the white blood cell count.

We stayed in the hospital for observation overnight, her temperature has been around 101-102 the whole time, they are doing a blood test now to see what the deal may be, they are also going to give her antibiotics.

Test results are in.....NO LEAK!!!!! The removed the final drain and will keep the feeding tube in for another 2/3 weeks along w/ the new stent they just placed yesterday. They also injected Fibrin glue where the drain was located. She is back in the room, in some pain from the drain being removed, but the news of the test results definitely makes us feel good. I'm not sure if we will be home from the hospital tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on how she feels and if they want to monitor her. She will now be on a full liquid diet until the stent is removed and then on to a regular diet. I will still update on how she is feeling. But today has been such a great day for me. Thank you again everyone for your support.

Update: Just got some promising news.....the stent remains in place, ALTHOUGH the Dr. is thinking that there is a small pouch type covering where the leak is, he believes it may be completely sealed. They are planning on shooting some dye into the drain to see if it leaks anywhere else (and given her current health, he doesn't think there is). If there is no leak from that test, he takes the drain out and we are done. If there is a leak, then we leave the drain in and try to keep moving forward. I think the Dr. who did the procedure yesterday confused me a bit and made this sound worse than it is. I will update after the procedure today.

I did just create a thread for the Austin/Central TX area. The Dr. who removed the stents came in this morning to talk too us, he says it may have been the lower stent that was holding the hole apart. So they did another x-ray this morning to see if the new stent has moved. She has been having nausea last night and vomited once. I guess I can only hope and pray that this stent stays in place and that it will heal (BTW, looking at the hole itself, it appears to not have decreased in size at all). I will post an update of what the primary doctor says today, and the x-ray results.

My wife has been dealing with a leak for about a month and a half. Does anyone have any experiences with surgeons in the area that I may be able to get an opinion from? Thanks.

Well we are back in the room after her recovery, she looks amazingly strong and is more pissed than anything. The Dr. told me that he thinks the 1st set of stents, which rested in the bottom of her stomach, the top part may have actually held the hole open. So tomorrow AM we will have an x-ray to see if the new stent has remained in place and go back home. Unless the Dr. has any other suggestions.... Also I feel like I'm repeating myself, but THANK YOU everyone for your thoughts and prayers, it helps me out alot. Oh and I do read aall this to my wife so she feels your support too!

Update: We came in this morning and my wife has been so IV abused they could not find a vein to use.....they had to do a pick line. They removed the stents at 4PM.....and the hole is STILL THERE and they placed another partially covered stent in. And from what the doctor told me, the hole looks like it has not improved at all. I'm waiting for her to get to her room and to hear from the Dr. This is an absolutle nightmare with no end in sight. Even my oldest daughter's teacher called today too let me know she was crying in class today because of her mommy. I can't handle anymore.

We are now scheduled for Monday @ noon to remove the stents, I'm very optimistic the leak will be healed. Wife is doing better today, walking around more. We thought about a 2nd opinion, but there's 2 roadblocks. The surgeon who did the repair did do the initial surgery. And after 2 months of complications, he is so familiar with what is happening. Another thing is that he is the only bariatric surgeon my insurance covers. In the worse case scenerio, like no improvement in the healing at all, I think we will seek a 2nd opinion.

Ok, the Dr. called and we are going to his office tomorrow AM to have the stitches re-done. Then a few days of rest at home and next Monday will be such a big day.....I feel positive we will have good news.

Well....I was changing the dressings on her and noticed that he stitches holding both the drain and the feeding tube are no longer in place. I secures the tubes with tape and we are waiting on the doctor to call back. Never a dull moment...I really do not know what to expect, I just want this to heal and be done with.

So we just got home from the hospital yesterday, the infected area seems to be alot better, she still has a slight fever. It was weird, at the hospital she had like NO drainage from where the leak was, but this morning we started seeing drainage again. Our next step is on Monday or Tuesday she will have the stents removed and they will test to see if the leak is healed. I really need prayers that it is. And from the question, she did have a CT scan before we left the hospital initially after the 1st surgery, showed no leaks.

We have been in and out of the hospital for over a month since the surgery, the repair surgery had her in ICU for 4 days after. now she has a stent covering the leak and hopefully next week they will take it out and see if the leak is healed.

Update: We had the CT scan last night and the Dr. came in this morning to tell us everything looks good. She does have an infection from the drain site that was removed, but it is not spreading and they have her on antibiotics. The CT scan also showed the stents are still in place and they did not show any leakage. She will have to come back to the hospital next week for a couple days to have the stent removed, test for the leak, and replace the stents if the leak is still there, I'm praying it will NOT be there.

My wife had a 103.3 temp and was cold, her lips were the same color as her skin. She's the "low percentage"...but that's what I noticed as we drove to the ER @ 4AM.

Thank you, actually, I do need to vent a bit as I am on the verge of tears here in the hospital. She means everything to me, I wish there was something I can do to ease the pain and uncertianty, and the worst part is........which kills me the most, it seems like nobody knows for sure that what they are doing will work, it's more of a "hope" that it will work. And it was super hard to find anyone I can relate to until here.....but even here, the chance of a leak is so slim to none. Everyone here has been great and the positive thoughts do work for me to an extent. I just want this to be over, I'm 1/2 way through my FMLA time and I have no idea what will happen if she is not better by the time I have to go back to work. I cannot function normally without being by her side, and will have nobody to watch the kids, we have no family out here.

Well, here's an update. Over the past 4 days she had a drain removed, she is down to the JP tube & 1 drain. Last night was our best night so far, she got some good sleep, we did some good feeding. Today we noticed some green drainage coming from the place where her drain was removed, and she had a slight fever all day. We called our Dr. and now we are BACK at the hospital, they will do a CT scan later and I think give her some antibiotics, this has been a complete nightmare, I am so mentally broke down.

Thank you all for the thoughts and advice so far. It has been a crazy time, I've been out on Leave of Absence from work since the surgery, and we have 3 kiddos....it's been quite a handful and not knowing what progress is being made is killing me. I just want to know for sure that she is healing. I will PM Tiffany & I will keep everyone updated, seems like a great group of people here, I'm glad I found this forum.