Dallas Powell

Thanks Winklie! You know your stuff for sure. I'll definitely check their website out regarding those procedures. I greatly appreciate your help. Awesome info!

Dr. Douchebag, LOL that's funny! Yea that's exactly the way I feel about him. I had my meeting with him. I think he has been reading this thread. I told him the bariatric forum I go to is huge. He said yes it is big. Interesting considering the fact that not once did I ever tell him which bariatric forum I go to. Which lead me to believe that him or his assistant searched for it and found it. He was wishy washy about it. He agreed that it was big. He then showed another still slide of it and said from this angle it looks like the normal size. I told him don't bother looking at that one because that is not a slide where my stomach was distended from the thing they make you drink. Those are the only slides that will accurately show how big it is. And he said yes those were big. I reminded him how he said my stomach was folded back in further clarification and that was why it was difficult to create the pouch. I said is that why it is much bigger because he wasn't able to see all of it. He said yes that may have been part of the problem. I could tell he really didn't want to give a firm answer on anything. Like he was trying to protect himself legally. I also asked him about how the thickest stuff they gave me which was supposed to go down and stop for a while in the stomach before going into the intestine. This thickest stuff passed right through the stomach like it want even there. This is one of the things that Winklie had mentioned. How he is supposed to taper down the bottom of the stomach where it meets further down with the intestines. I questioned the surgeon about that. His answer to that is we really don't know exactly how big to make that. I could taper it down so tight that food can't get through. We have tried that with lab band patients he says. We've constricted the band so tight that hardly anything gets through. And we don't like to do those anymore because they end up failing. The people are still hungry he says. They didn't get the part cut out like they do with the sleeve that creates the Ghrelin. So their hunger hormone is still raging and they want to eat. They end up eating low density high calorie foods like shakes. He then says how great the gastric sleeve is. They were pushing that sleeve from the start. Pushing it hard. I decided against it due to the research I did confirming that the bypass when done right is the gold standard. So he wrapped it up saying he is still my doctor and he doesn't want to see me get hurt. He again talked about how terribly dangerous it was to have the revisional surgeries. And to beware of several different revisional surgeries that doctors are out there pushing. Like this laser one where they burn both sides of the bottom of the stomach to taper it off and make it smaller, and several others. He said they aren't tested well. He then said he has no idea what will actually fix the problem. He repeated the problems of making the stomach smaller and still being hungry due to the old stomach being there producing Ghrelin. And tapering down the bottom more and repeated the lap band peoples problem. He said we could take out the old part of the stomach. And then said he didn't know. I asked him if he calculated the actual size of the stomach from the measurements that the technician gave. The technician said the Dr. would calculate it. But he didn't. I told him that he advertises that he does them at 2 tablespoons or 30cc's. He said no he doesn't advertise that. He said that is just general education. I asked him why it's on Carilion paper in a Carilion binder. That's the name of the hospital. And if they have their logo stamped all over it it gives people the impression that that is the way they like to do them. He said he is going to change that. I also asked him about he hernia at the top of the stomach and reminded him that I didn't have one before because he tested for that. He pulled back up the X Rays and he said yes he sees that he typed that but it doesnt' look like one to him. He said it's bulged a little but he doesn't think it's a hernia. But he doesn't know for sure. He ended off with he will do whatever I want to do. If I want a referral to one of his fellow bariatric surgeons then he would give me one. Clearly that would be stupid to go to someone he very well could know to get their opinion. I haven't done anything yet. I know now for sure this will be dragging into next year. He said it is very dangerous to redo the surgery within 3 months of having it anyways. So I guess I'm going to Johns Hopkins, Duke or somewhere further away since he was talking about the referral he would send me to is at the University of Virginia. My GF who had the botched surgery as well, not as bad as me but still bad, asked the surgeon for one of those upper GI X Ray tests that I had. Because she has been watching what she eats, is about 4 months post op and lost 50 lbs and stopped losing weight and has gained back 5. She can eat almost as much as me. The surgeon's blocker girl answered that it's her fault. That the stomach has not stretched out since the surgery. Because it takes 2 plus years to do that. So she said that it is the right size and it has to be that she is eating wrong. And that she needs to contact the nut. That's all these people do is talk about how it's your fault. I just found out one of my best friends had their lap band done by Dr. Lucktong. He's fatter than he has ever been and he was made to believe it's totally his fault and there is no surgery that could ever help him because he is a stress eater. So he feels like he is a failure. I'm trying to let him know that it's the surgery that's the failure not him.

Wow what a story that is. Sounds like you're in the same boat Hanida as I am. It sure is tough right now deciding to do the whole thing all over again. What a nightmare the first round was. I guess this time I better make sure the Dr. is a really good one. It's definitely not going to be the same one again. Today is the day. Later this morning I go back to the Dr. to see what he has to say about my test results. I expect he will say everything looks pretty good. I'm going to have to show the results to another Dr. out of town because I can't count on this guy to tell me the truth about anything now. Good luck Hanida on your upcoming surgery!!! I'm ready to have another one as well and get this done right. Getting on the scale now I'm 280. I was 307 to start. I haven't lost much in weeks. The only way I will be able to is a traditional diet. And I have failed at those time and time again throughout my life so I don't have a lot of confidence in that working.

Everyone, thank you again for your replies. It feels real good that there are people that actually care. I don’t know what I would do without you. You’re advise is very much appreciated. Especially since this whole thing is new to me and you all have taught me what is normal and what isn’t. DJmohr it was very thoughtful for you to spend the time to write up the guidelines for what those who have had the bypass need to go by to make sure they get enough nutrients in so they don’t get a deficiency. Unfortunately I don’t have that problem. I sure wish I did though. The cut down stomach my surgeon made me is huge. And it doesn’t retain food. I essentially have no stomach at all. Food goes down my esophagus and dumps directly into my intestine as the stomach does not act like a holding station for food to get dissolved. And it appears so far that my intestines are doing a fine job at digesting food and absorbing nutrients. Maybe too good of a job. Too bad I don’t have a small stomach that I could get full from small meals on. I have the hunger that I would guess most people here had before the surgery. And before the surgery I was unsuccessful at permanently maintaining a diet. I don’t see it as it being possible for me to currently keep weight off. I was hoping that I could have had the benefits that everyone else gets from having the surgery. Primarily the benefit of getting full on a small amount of food. JacksdadShane just to clarify, my stomach is not much different than it was before. I’m sure it was huge before the surgery due to the amount of food I ate. I can be honest with you all, my problem never was sweets. It has been mass quantity. I simply always have eaten a lot of food. The last couple of years I have been on a pretty strict diabetic diet eating pretty much exclusively meat and vegetables. I don’t like needles so I decided to manage my diabetes via my diet. And as a result I lost a grand total of 20 lbs. Get my point? It’s a quantity issue for me, not quality. And unfortunately I am still in the same boat as I was before the surgery. It is a little easier and I do get full faster than before. But in order to get full it still requires quite a large portion of food. I never got that chance that I wanted like everyone else gets who has the surgery. GoBlue, OMG I would like to thank you for doing research on Dr. Lucktong. I did research on him before the surgery and everything I found looked good. Unbelievable what you found. I sent it right over to my girlfriend who also just had a botched surgery from Dr. Lucktong and she was shocked by it. Could you tell me what site you found that on? I really need to see if I can contact that person. I know from past experience of a friend that suing a Dr. is a very costly endeavor. My friend had a breast augmentation that the doctor botched. She got a life threatening infection in her breasts. She ended up getting a staff loquacious infection and almost died from it. That’s a bacteria that is commonly found in the nose. I went with her to the medical malpractice attorney. The attorney was all over it. There were several other details. It’s a long story but it was a really good case. He said he would love to be the lawyer she picked to take it. And as with all medical malpractice lawyers he would take his time and fight it for her at no charge. Until she got paid. However there is a preliminary cost. And that cost is to get another Dr. to appear in court and testify against the bad Dr. And he said that they have this sort of code of ethics locally. No doctor will go testify against another local Dr. So he said you have to get an out of town Dr. Far enough out of town where they personally wouldn’t have been effected by retaliation. He ended up finding one close by in the next state (North Carolina) at Duke. This surgeon he found was perfect. He was a college professor of breast augmentations. But he said like all they charge hourly door to door. So when he left his house there he starts billing and he keeps billing until he is back home. And the cost is $1,000 per hour. The attorney said that the case could be several days but most likely he would only be needed for 1 to 2 days. They charge literally every hour they are here. Including the hours they are here sleeping in a hotel. So it would be 24 to 48 hours. Needless to say she wasn’t able to sue the Dr. You have to be pretty wealthy these days to sue a Dr. That’s why it makes me so mad when I hear politicians talking about tort reform. For those of you who don’t know what tort reform is, it’s preventing doctors from getting sued. It’s pretty clear that it’s practically already impossible to sue a Dr. unless you have a good amount of money. And to make it even harder is ridiculous. Fortunately I am in a position today where I should be able to fight for my rights. And I would love to do that along with several people who have also had the same type of experience with that doctor. A small update: This afternoon a person from Dr. Lucktong’s office called me. She said they got my test results in and would like to set an appointment. She then said that she would like to set it sometime next year and then we could call it the 3rd month after the surgery. AKA the last free appointment that would be included with the surgery. OMG that is extremely irritating that she was so focused on one more free appointment to me when I have these, what I consider to be very serious issues. So I told her I am shocked that she said that and I would think that the Dr. would have wanted to see me right away considering the results of that test. I went on to explain how if we wait too long my insurance company may want to deny another surgery. They may say that my comorbidities are gone such as my high blood pressure and diabetes so I didn’t need it anymore as I am right on the edge regarding the weight of having it or not having it. The main reason they accepted it was because I have several other health issues which allowed me down to a BMI of 35. At the time of surgery I had a BMI of 39 so there is a little room but no that much. I also told her that I have paid several thousand dollars in fees to the Dr. and insurance company and if we get into next year I will have another huge deductible to pay. He has been paid extremely well to do my surgery. And I see this as an urgent issue. I asked her what time the Dr. has right away to see me. What time tomorrow would work. I can even meet after or before work if needed. She said he had no time right away and the first appointment he has is December 8th. Well, as you and I know, everyone has some time. Are they trying to tell me that he literally works every waking hour of the day and when he’s done he drives straight home to sleep. If I did this to someone you better believe I will not go home at 5pm sharp that day and will do what I need to do to make things right. I again told her I would have thought that the Dr. would have wanted to meet with me before December 8th. She returned and said no, he is fine with meeting with you then. So I reluctantly set the appointment. I guess I need to get on the ball and set another one out of town with another surgeon to get their opinion on the test results. Is it acceptable for me to call Dr. Lucktong “The Butcher” now? Considering that as of now I can confirm that he butchered me, my girlfriend and that other person that GoBlue found?

Hi Everyone, So I had the test today. The surgeon told me that he was going to have them do an endoscopy but they set an appointment for an Upper GI. Not sure why he switched it. As you may recall the first test I had at that other hospital was a CT Scan. The CT Scan was inconclusive. I can now see why that isn’t the right test for this kind of surgery screw-up. It is much more clear in an Upper GI what is happening in real time with the liquids that are swallowed. The person doing the test was shocked at the size of my stomach. It was huge. The look on his face was like Ohh Man this was really screwed up. He said he has never seen one anywhere near that big after the surgery. And the Fluid that was supposed to stop in my stomach for a little bit just poured right through it. It was literally in my stomach for milliseconds. Like there was no port at the bottom of it made to slow it down. Other things he asked me is if I had a hernia at the bottom of my esophagus. He said that it looked like I have one so he was asking me if they saw one on the endoscopy I had before the surgery. They never told me anything about one before. The Dr said everything looked normal after that pre surgery endoscopy. One other thing he noticed is that fluid going back up into my old stomach. He said he didn’t see it go in it on the way down but wasn't sure. He said it was possible that it was refluxing back up into it. Down into the intestine and then back up into the old stomach. But he wasn't sure about that. So now I’m waiting for the Dr. to contact me and tell me what his plans are. I definitely won’t be letting him fix anything. I don’t think that he’s capable of doing so. Especially since he said that the revisional surgeries are so recent and dangerous. That clearly means to me that he isn’t qualified. I guess I better go to the hospital and get the surgery notes. From both the bypass and the first surgery where they put me out to put that endoscope down my throat and look around. Before those notes end up changing… Ohh, btw, I didn't eat or drink anything for about 12 hours before that test and since then I have my pain under my left ribs back. It's not real bad pain. But people are telling me that I am past the point where I should have any pain now. So what do you guys think about that? It's real tender kind of like a knife stuck in me sharp like that but only when I push on it or stretch backwards. More like a knife that has been there for a very long time. Not an instant stab but like one that has been embedded there for a long time.

Not sure on that. He said stitches when he was showing me white looking lines in the old and new stomachs and the connection to the intestine. Yes exactly what you said. That was the term he used revisional surgeries. I will do some research on that and see if I can find the guy you were talking about.

Thanks Guys, I talked to the Dr which was irritating. I recorded the whole conversation. it started out as expected with him saying everything is normal and he did mine just like he does all of them. He then said he does his stomachs a little larger at 60 cc's. Sure would have been nice if he told me that BEFORE the surgery rather than after. So that would be 2 oz's in size un-stretched. Or 4 tablespoons. Still much less than the quantity I can easily eat. I asked him what exactly does it mean when he told my GF that he had problems developing my pouch. I can tell he knew I was recording it. I had my phone out. The screen was black. But he kept looking at it. I had it resting on my leg. He said the difficulty was due to my anatomy. Same thing he said about my GF when she had her surgery. He said my stomach was folded over with something over it so that made it difficult. Do recall that she too can eat way more than most people here. Just not anywhere near as much as I can. LynnAlex that 2,200 calories I can eat is just what I naturally feel like eating. And the majority of it is all at once when I get home from work. I don't eat much during the day. That's the way I always have been. My breaking of any diet happens at night when I get home. I explained to the Dr. how much I can easily eat at once. 3 lien cuisine amount of food at one sitting. I am not eating 3 lien cuisines. But that is what I can eat to give you all an ideal of the quantity. And explained to him the little weight loss I have had is strictly as a result of the diet I have been on. It has very little to do if any with the surgery. He ended up agreeing to their being some sort of problem. He said that I am the only person he has EVER seen that can eat that much right out of the surgery. So the next steps with him are this coming Monday the 23rd I'm going back to have a upper GI. And from that he is going to look in more detail at where things are going. We looked over my CT Scan and he was not able to see any problems in it. He showed me where the stitches were and how it didn't look like it was going anywhere other than where it should. I asked if he could have created the port at the bottom of the stomach too big so it is just dumping directly into the intestine. He then went into this long conversation about how there are all kinds of dangerous surgeries that can be done after and he is fearful of doing that kind of stuff because it's all new and not very well tested via time. But he said we should take some further steps and do some testing to see if we can see any issues. So I'm guessing I should just do this stuff that he says to do to see if he can find a problem. And if the end result is all people are different and I have an extra elastic stomach like he said I could have then I probably need to at that point go to someone else. Which will push it into next year. Meaning I pay another deductible to the insurance company. I'm already at or close to my maximum yearly out of pocket right now and was hoping I could knock this out this year. I told him all I wanted was an equal shot at this surgery that everyone else gets. Considering the fact that I am fat and the statistical likelihood of me staying on a diet forever is slim to none. It's just not going to happen. I have been on a diet for about 7 or 8 months now from having to lose weight to have the surgery. And I am getting tired of it. I needed that extra help of a successful surgery to make being on a diet easier and more tolerable.

itstimealready yes it was in the US. It was in Roanoke Virginia. Carillion Hospital. DUB, thank you. It means a lot to me that you guys are there for me. It's hard to talk to other people that haven't had the surgery because they don't get it. Toasty yes you're right. Losing weight only by my own diet that I could have been on without the surgery. I do feel like I have a small tool to work with considering I can eat less than I did before but no where near where I should be. It seems like I'm at the stage that someone would be at 10 years after having their surgery. After stretching their stomach back out to a degree. I feel like I really got screwed over by them. Will be interesting to hear what the surgeon says on the 10th.

Exactly! Too many people here saying that it is not normal. And I feel very confident that the surgeon will say everything is normal. I guess I need to go see him and hear it first, then if he says what I suspect I need to go get a second opinion from someone good. Fortunately as of now I am losing weight. Down 16 lbs 3 weeks later. If I don't get it fixed though I think it's going to be a real battle trying to get to 210 or so where I want to be. And I likely won't keep it off because historically I haven't been able to indefinitely stay on a diet. It's real irritating though and if I drag this out into next year that means another big deductible for the insurance company.

UVA isn't too far away. Wake Forest in NC is close as well. Not sure which is better. My surgeon is an associate professor at Virginia Tech. Yea I guess I need to set an appointment with him and document everything like crazy. Giving him an opportunity to fix his mistake. I have been communicating with his assistant quite a bit. Nothing but denial which is what I expected. And what I expect him to say. Here's her answer to the pain and asking where all of the food could possibly be going as well as telling her that I had a CAT Scan at another hospital. I was asking if there is an afternoon time due to the fact that I am up all night every night until 5am as a result of unassociated chronic pain. One of the main reasons I had the surgery as my pain specialist said that it will likely get better if I get the weight off. Looks like he really doesn't give a S*** about that though. "Dallas, I appreciate that you are researching and I am glad you are counting your calories. Please take the things you research and read in the support forums with a grain of salt. I do not feel you have a fistula or a leak. But, I would like you to speak with Dr. Lucktong to see if he feels there is anything else that should be done for you. I also feel like the "lump" and pain is healing. But, again I would like you to see Dr. Lucktong for a second opinion. Unfortunately, no that is the only available appt he has was Nov 10th at 9:15am. Can you make this appt?"

Thanks Guys and Gals. I will make sure that they do the endoscope thing. I'm thinking I need to have that done by someone else. Maybe drive to Wake Forest or Duke or somewhere good outside of Roanoke VA. The surgeon I had is considered the best around here. And quite frankly I am scared now to have him do anything considering the fact that not only me but my GF has the same kind of issues with hers, just not to the degree that I do. LOL that's some funny stuff Winklie!

Winkle I took your advice and went to the hospital yesterday. I ended up going to another one and unfortunately they didn’t have a bariatric doctor. I will have to go out of town for that. But they did do tests. They did a CAT Scan which they said confirmed that I don’t have a fistula. The way this hospital worked is they sent it out of town to Richmond VA for people to analyze it and then sent results back. So I could only talk to a nurse who repeated what they said. I asked her if the stomach has to be full in order for the contrast to get through a fistula because I hadn’t eaten anything as of then. She said no. That still leaves the question where could the food possibly go. I have been emailing back and forth with the surgeons assistant and she says there is no problem. The nutritionist doesn’t say that though. She says it's impossible. Drmeow, I am on some anti ulcer medication and a heart burn medication they said I have to take for 3 months. Likeadiamond regarding the Vitamins, I take Dr. Wallach’s 90 essential nutrients. Which may be too strong as he is way over 100% of the daily value on almost all vitamins including the fat soluble ones. They said they do a leak test by blowing up the stomach with gas or air or something while they are doing the surgery. And I think that CAT Scan would test for leaks as well. It may be that he made a huge stomach. Or that he didn’t taper down the other side of it so food doesn’t sit in it but rather just drops right into the intestine. After all the surgeon did tell my GF that he had difficulty creating my pouch due to my anatomy. She had the same surgery by him 3 weeks prior to me. And she can eat way more than you guys can. Not as much as me but still way more than you guys. And during her surgery he called me and said it took so long on her due to scar tissue he had to get through and "her build". TMG yes meeting the Protein goals. They say 60 to 70 grams a day. Meeting any minimum isn’t difficult when I don’t get full. MsTwist. It’ seems to me now after having that CAT Scan that it may be exactly what you’re saying. I don’t see it as being possible for me to remain on a diet forever. As with all fat people statistically I will end up breaking it. I have already been dieting for 6 months prior to the surgery as a requirement. And I’m getting real tired of it. I wish they would have done it right the first time... what a pain. I really was excited about this surgery and hoping that I would feel full on small amounts of food which would have helped me tremendously on losing weight. I am still loosing though. On the day of the surgery 3 weeks ago I was 307. I am now 294. But I have struggled to get there. It has been by a regular diet. The surgery hasn’t helped me get there. It’s all me fighting the urge to eat. The surgeons assistant said the next appointment with him is the second week of November. So I guess I have to wait until then. The emergency room has concluded that the contrast went where it should and said I’m not in danger of dying right now. And I can guarantee when I go back to the Dr. he’s going to deny it and say it’s not his fault. That’s what I expect to hear. Seems the way people do things these days with lack of integrity and honesty. Thank you all for helping me through this and helping me realize that there is in fact some problem!

The pain you have under your left rib is your stomach, sounds like you are stuffing in too much food and yes that will cause pain. What happens when you eat half a cup of food? What do you mean by starving yourself? What type of hunger symptoms do you have? The pain under my left rib is all the time. All the way through to my back when it's bad. And not eating for an extended period of time ends up giving me the sudden stabbing pain that comes and goes. Typically eating helps decrease the pain. If I eat a half a cup of food nothing happens. Still hungry that's it. I only get the tight full feeling after eating quantity of roughly 3 lien cuisines at once. Which I haven't been doing due to fear of damaging something. All that food is going somewhere and people here are saying that the pouch itself is too small to hold that quantity of food. Regarding starving self at 1,400 calories a day I feel exactly like I did before prior to the surgery if I was eating that little. Nothing different. I do realize the difference between head hunger and real hunger. I have both like most people do. And I try not to eat when it's head hunger.

I've been doing research on that gastric fistula. The US Government says that it happens to 6% of people who have a Rouxen-Y gastric bypass. They also say that you don't have to have a fever as a symptom. Another site says that most symptoms are related to epigastric pain and ulcerations around the anastomotic site. Both of which I have. I have some pain and a lump at the bottom edge of my left rib. I have been starving myself and keeping it down to around 1,300 calories a day. It seems like you guys are right that all of that food has to go somewhere and the pouch is too small to hold it. But with a fistula the food continues to go into the stomach. Still connected in one spot. Not a complete separation. It takes 2 paths, stomach and the new intestine connection. I definitely need to get this figured out. And I greatly appreciate all of your comments!