Zanthina

I've been emailing back and forth with Dr. Watkins. I may see if he'd like to see my records.

Hey there everyone, When I read what was happening to jg, her situation and symptoms were eerily similar to what I have just gone through. I don't think someone could make it up. Lexy

Hello everyone! I have an update. I went to see the surgeon who did my repair surgery at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia, MO. He basically told me that as long as I was doing well now there was no reason to consider any further treatment. When I asked him if he knew anything about the likelihood of another perforation he said he did not know. What disturbed me was that when I asked about the possibility of revision to another surgery or reversal, he told me that from what he saw when he did my repair surgery any revision or reversal would be extremely dangerous because of all the scar tissue that has formed around the plication. Now, I expected there to be some scar tissue, that would be natural. However, one of the things that I was told that sold me on the plication procedure was that it could be reversed or revised because the stomach tissue stays in place and stays healthy. From what my repair surgeon is telling me, this is not the case. He also told me something else that bothered me. He said that in the illustrations and videos he's seen of the plication procedure the suture line is very neat and straight. When he saw my stomach during my repair surgery, he noted that the suture line was jagged and that the upper part of the stomach was very red, swollen and angry. I'm not sure yet what this means for me. In conclusion, I'm going to try to get a referral to Washington University in St. Louis or maybe the Cleveland Clinic where Dr. Watkins practices. I need a surgeon who has either seen this procedure, worked with someone who has had it, or is willing to consult with someone who knows about this procedure. I'm getting none of that from my current surgeon. All I'm getting from my current surgeon is basically that if I'm doing ok now, then doing nothing from here on out is the best option. I want to know more about my options and risks from this point forward. Let me know if anyone has any advice or feedback for me. Lexy

Hi! Your surgeon discussed this particular complication with you? Because I don't recall ever having been told about this. I remember on the waiver form it discussing the remote possibility of leaks, but not what happened in my particular situation.

That would be great, thank you so much!

Hello! I am actually looking for others who have had experiences similar to mine. Can you point me in the right direction? Lexy

I'm pasting below my post on a thread I just started regarding plication complication. Hello Everyone, I want to start off by saying I had the plication surgery with Dr. Corvala in Tijuana in July 2010. From July to mid December 2010 I had no problems. I had a quick recovery and had managed to lose 60 or so pounds. Then, in mid December, a serious complication occurred. I'm pasting below an email I sent to my patient experience manager, Courtney Talmadge, in response to an email from her asking what happened and how I was doing. "On December 21 I went to my local emergency room (Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, MO) with abdominal pain, pain in my left shoulder when I breathed in, and dry heaving. They did an xray and ct scan and found what they referred to as free air in my abdominal cavity. They also found that the contrast Fluid I drank for the procedure was leaking from my stomach into my abdominal cavity. At that time the attending physician told me I was being transported to the University Hospital in Columbia. I was transported by ambulance to the University of Missouri Hospital. I was met there by a surgical team from the bariatrics department. I explained the procedure I had received from Dr. Corvala. The surgeons told me that I needed surgery immediately to repair a perforation in my stomach that was allowing air and fluids to pass into my abdominal cavity. After I woke up from the surgery I was told that the perforation occurred because part of my stomach was not receiving adequate blood flow and perforated as a result. The surgeons explained that, in order to attempt to prevent future occurrence, the surgeons had loosened plication stitching. The surgeons put a tissue patch over the hole to prevent leakage and to allow the hole to heal. They told me and my family that the portion of the stomach where the hole had formed was white in color from being cut off from adequate blood flow for so long and that they had almost decided to resect that part of the stomach rather than repair it. They told me and my family that, in their opinion, it's very possible this will happen to me again in the future because of the damage to my stomach and other areas that hadn't been receiving proper blood flow. I was in the hospital from 12/21-12/26, spending my Christmas there. It took 4 days to rehydrate my body, because the hole that had formed in my stomach had let all the fluids I drank into my abdominal cavity. I had a tube coming out of my left side abdomen to drain the fluids for the duration of my stay. I had a tube coming up from my stomach and out of my nose to drain any fluids from my stomach for the first 3 days I was there. It was a horrific and traumatic experience for me and my family. At my follow-up appointment on January 7th I spoke with one of the bariatric surgeons at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia, MO about what happened. He explained to me that, due to a technical error that occurred during my plication surgery, the plication stitching had not allowed portions of my stomach to get adequate blood flow. This caused a part of the stomach to start dying and a hole formed. Also on Jan 7 I had another xray with contrast to see if there was any further leakage. The results of this test show no further leakage but that my stomach is very swollen at this time. I am continuing to be monitored through Missouri Bariatric Services, a University of Missouri Hospital Clinic. I believe this to be a dire complication. I was told when I came to the ER that, due to the severity of my condition I was about 24 hours from sepsis and death. It is very important that Dr. Corvala, his team, and potential patients know about this possibility. This was not mentioned to me as a possible complication of the plication surgery. In fact, I had asked about the possibility that that folding and stitching could harm the stomach and had also asked about cutting off blood flow to the folded portion of the stomach. I was told plication procedure was done in such a way as to retain the health of the stomach and that blood continues to flow regularly to the folded part of the stomach. I was also told that the plication procedure was much safer because there was no risk of leaks because no portion of the stomach is cut away and there is no staple line. Potential patients thinking of getting the plication procedure should know the possibilities." It should be noted that I asked my surgeons here in Missouri if there was anything I did that could have caused this complication. They have informed me that this complication was not at all my fault, but due to an error committed by the surgeon (Dr. Corvala) during my plication surgery. If you decide you're interested in the plication procedure and go through Dr. Corvala I would suggest you ask him about my case. To be perfectly honest, I'm happy with the results of my surgery. My restriction is great, my weight loss has been what I expected. However, as noted above, I almost lost my life. I wanted to share my story because when the surgery was described to me it was being advertised as a safer alternative to other surgeries and that the risk for complication was very low. As noted above, I even asked Dr. Corvala about blood flow to the stomach with the plication surgery and was told that the blood flow would be retained and the stomach tissue would remain healthy. For me, this was not the case. Please feel free to ask questions. -Alexa Thompson

Hello Everyone, I want to start off by saying I had the plication surgery with Dr. Corvala in Tijuana in July 2010. From July to mid December 2010 I had no problems. I had a quick recovery and had managed to lose 60 or so pounds. Then, in mid December, a serious complication occurred. I'm pasting below an email I sent to my patient experience manager, Courtney Talmadge, in response to an email from her asking what happened and how I was doing. "On December 21 I went to my local emergency room (Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, MO) with abdominal pain, pain in my left shoulder when I breathed in, and dry heaving. They did an xray and ct scan and found what they referred to as free air in my abdominal cavity. They also found that the contrast Fluid I drank for the procedure was leaking from my stomach into my abdominal cavity. At that time the attending physician told me I was being transported to the University Hospital in Columbia. I was transported by ambulance to the University of Missouri Hospital. I was met there by a surgical team from the bariatrics department. I explained the procedure I had received from Dr. Corvala. The surgeons told me that I needed surgery immediately to repair a perforation in my stomach that was allowing air and fluids to pass into my abdominal cavity. After I woke up from the surgery I was told that the perforation occurred because part of my stomach was not receiving adequate blood flow and perforated as a result. The surgeons explained that, in order to attempt to prevent future occurrence, the surgeons had loosened plication stitching. The surgeons put a tissue patch over the hole to prevent leakage and to allow the hole to heal. They told me and my family that the portion of the stomach where the hole had formed was white in color from being cut off from adequate blood flow for so long and that they had almost decided to resect that part of the stomach rather than repair it. They told me and my family that, in their opinion, it's very possible this will happen to me again in the future because of the damage to my stomach and other areas that hadn't been receiving proper blood flow. I was in the hospital from 12/21-12/26, spending my Christmas there. It took 4 days to rehydrate my body, because the hole that had formed in my stomach had let all the fluids I drank into my abdominal cavity. I had a tube coming out of my left side abdomen to drain the fluids for the duration of my stay. I had a tube coming up from my stomach and out of my nose to drain any fluids from my stomach for the first 3 days I was there. It was a horrific and traumatic experience for me and my family. At my follow-up appointment on January 7th I spoke with one of the bariatric surgeons at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia, MO about what happened. He explained to me that, due to a technical error that occurred during my plication surgery, the plication stitching had not allowed portions of my stomach to get adequate blood flow. This caused a part of the stomach to start dying and a hole formed. Also on Jan 7 I had another xray with contrast to see if there was any further leakage. The results of this test show no further leakage but that my stomach is very swollen at this time. I am continuing to be monitored through Missouri Bariatric Services, a University of Missouri Hospital Clinic. I believe this to be a dire complication. I was told when I came to the ER that, due to the severity of my condition I was about 24 hours from sepsis and death. It is very important that Dr. Corvala, his team, and potential patients know about this possibility. This was not mentioned to me as a possible complication of the plication surgery. In fact, I had asked about the possibility that that folding and stitching could harm the stomach and had also asked about cutting off blood flow to the folded portion of the stomach. I was told plication procedure was done in such a way as to retain the health of the stomach and that blood continues to flow regularly to the folded part of the stomach. I was also told that the plication procedure was much safer because there was no risk of leaks because no portion of the stomach is cut away and there is no staple line. Potential patients thinking of getting the plication procedure should know the possibilities." It should be noted that I asked my surgeons here in Missouri if there was anything I did that could have caused this complication. They have informed me that this complication was not at all my fault, but due to an error committed by the surgeon (Dr. Corvala) during my plication surgery. If you decide you're interested in the plication procedure and go through Dr. Corvala I would suggest you ask him about my case. To be perfectly honest, I'm happy with the results of my surgery. My restriction is great, my weight loss has been what I expected. However, as noted above, I almost lost my life. I wanted to share my story because when the surgery was described to me it was being advertised as a safer alternative to other surgeries and that the risk for complication was very low. As noted above, I even asked Dr. Corvala about blood flow to the stomach with the plication surgery and was told that the blood flow would be retained and the stomach tissue would remain healthy. For me, this was not the case. Please feel free to ask questions. -Alexa Thompson

Woohoo, very happy for you!