Leak ?'s

[DaniEA 10]

Hey all! I am gettin sleeved end on April andmy Dr told me of the possibilities of a leak and I meant to ask more questions but of course forgot... I had 7 million other questions haha :-)

How serious is a leak if I do get one? what are the signs of one? How do they fix it? life threatening? I appreciate any info you all have! Thanks everyone!!

[peacequeen 434]

I know several people here, including myself, that have had a leak and we had some of the same symptoms but our experiences were all different. I had nausea, fever, pain in my left shoulder..those were the main symptoms that I had. There's been quite a few posts about this topic if you want to try a search to get more info. A leak can be fatal if left untreated. I caught on pretty early. That's why it's important to pay attention to your body after surgery and if something doesn't feel right, call your doctor right away.

[Meredit 15]

My doctor didn't even mention leak, maybe because I originally wanted the band?? Is a leak something I need to be afraid of for the rest of my life? I am so scared when I ate something I am going to cause a leak. Like I just ate egg salad and it isn't sitting well with me and I am going into a panic attack that I am going to cause a leak.. Any insight on this?

[peacequeen 434]

I'm sorry, I forgot,,,yes it's fixable. My leak was small and it was due to an area at the top of my stomach where stapling was missed. I was put on tpn (total parenteral nutrition..no food or liquids at all) right away and continued it for over 3 weeks. 9 days in ICU and the rest of the time, at home. It wasn't the greatest experience,,I thought since I wasn't eating or drinking that I would lose weight but I gained 13 pounds that I had already lost so I had to lose that weight twice. It was a long complicated and drawn out process but I am doing much better now.

[Happy Camper 266]

Please check the complications forum. Most post there to help others. Peace queen good to hear you are doing well now. You are right there are others, Libbe (mememe), JAS, I think Tiffykins and she was a revision from band to sleeve. Dani, other things can happen...stricture, and for me I had an abscess. Basically, infection followed the drain line down towards my stomach and caused me to need a second surgery after two weeks of being sleeved. I now have a large scar accross my belly but, small price to pay. I was fortunate the abscess did not go into my paretenial cavity, it would have been bad. So please know, you must weigh this surgery for yourself. For me, my comormidities were going to kill me if I did not get healthy.

I would do it again even with my complication.

[DaniEA 10]

Thank y'all for the info :-) I didn't realize there was a complication forum so thanks :-) Glad you guys are doing good now!