Surgery with Complications but Now Doing Great!

[Stefany0412 4]

Hi everyone! I just wanted to tell my story thus far, having experienced a "rare" complication that can occur.

Sorry it's an essay!

I'm a 22 year old female and have had weight issues my entire life. My aunt had the lap-band done about five years ago and my older sister had it done about two years ago and they had had some weight loss but not enough to make me want to go through the process as well. It took me an entire year to finally want to have surgery. The things that finally changed my mind were being diagnosed with sleep apnea, hypertension, and amenorhea (loss of a period) all in August of 2013. I was 21 years old at the time. So I had my first consultation with the same surgeon that did my aunt and sister's lap-band and after going home and doing my own research, I decided on the gastric sleeve. My personal reason for deciding on the sleeve was that although the weight can be regained much easier with the sleeve, the lap-band isn't successful with everyone and many people end up going back to get the sleeve (both my aunt and sister have considered this).

Due to having at least 2 co-morbidities (sleep apnea and hypertension), my surgery was approved and covered 100%. I had my surgery during my Christmas break in December of 2013. I went in on a Wednesday morning and was supposed to stay Wednesday and Thursday night and be discharged Friday morning. I wasn't nervous. At all. I'm in nursing school, my mother is a nurse, both of my older sisters are nurses, and my aunt is a nurse, and we'd all done our research and although both of my sisters tried to persuade me to go with the lap-band due to the increased risk of complications with the sleeve, my mind wasn't changing. I'd seen the statistics: 1-3% of people die from complications and only 7% of people have complications in the first place. And I was okay with those statistics. There was no way I was going to be one of them. Other than being obese (5'8 and 242 lbs on day of surgery) and having high blood pressure (usually 150's/90's) and sleep apnea, I wasn't significantly "sick". And age was on my side.

But sure enough, I was part of that 7% of people that end up with complications. I had surgery Wednesday morning and had no complaints Wednesday night with the exception of incisional pain and pain from the CO2 that they fill your stomach with and a little bit of nausea. They took me down to x-ray Thursday morning to check for leaks and none were found. Everything at that point was still okay. Come Thursday afternoon, my WBC count was up from 9,000 to 11,000 (something to be expected and not to worry about). And later that night, my temp. rose to 100 (still not too much of a reason for concern). But come Friday, I still didn't feel okay. I wasn't okay. Not only was I having the incisional pain and pain from the CO2 in my abdomen, I had SEVERE left shoulder pain and wouldn't even allow my mom to touch it when she attempted to help me stand to walk around the unit. I didn't even want to move that arm. And I just did not feel "right". I felt worse than I had on Thursday. My WBC count was at 17,000 Friday afternoon and later that night, my temp. spiked to 103.2 (both of which are not normal). So come Saturday morning (WBC count at 23,000 by this time), my surgeon had me sent back down to x-ray for a suspected leak. He explained to me that leaks are rare but they can happen. And sure enough, Radiology called my surgeon immediately to let him know that there was, in fact, a very small leak that had been leaking gasric contents into my abdominal cavity since Wednesday (causing the spike in my WBC count and my temp. AND the deferred left shoulder pain). So at 11am my surgeon came and spoke with me (mainly my mom because I'd been on so much Dilaudid and was so sick that I was out of it- I don't remember much of the week I was in the hospital). I was made NPO (no fluids or anything by mouth) so I could be taken back for surgery Sunday morning.

Sunday morning my surgeon and his partner surgeon took me back for surgery and repaired the leak-- a staple had made the tiniest perforation in the BACK of my stomach wall (the reason the leak wasn't originally found on Thursday morning during x-ray). Fortunately, there was no abscess so their original decision to send me to ICU was changed. However, because I was going to need as much Protein as possible to help my stomach heal and repair itself from 2 surgeries within 5 days, my surgeon placed a J-tube (feeding tube that goes directly into the jejunum of your intestines and exits through your abdominal wall). This was something he had explained to my mom that he would be doing, while I was out of it. So all over again, I experienced awful incisional pain and pain from CO2 filling my abdominal cavity but I felt "right". My WBC count went back down and my temp didn't spike again. But the pain and tube-feedings for the few weeks after were almost unbearable. Thank God for pain meds, right?

There were many regrets I had for the entire first month. I was angry and upset at myself (for choosing the sleeve over the band) and my surgeon and even radiology for not originally catching the leak. And I was angry that I had a feeding tube still that I'd had to tape to my stomach so it wouldn't hang down past the bottom of my shirt. But I started feeling better by February and stopped regretting my decision. My blood pressure was dropping, I stopped having to use my CPAP for sleep apnea, and I got my period back. The feeding tube was finally taken out the second week of March (I stopped having to use it in January but the stitches used to stitch it to your intestines take 3 months to dissolve and then it can literally just be pulled out). And now, I'm 3 months post-op and feel GREAT and no longer regret my decision to have the sleeve and am so happy with my results thus far-- I've lost 66 lbs as of this morning

So there ARE risks for complications and they CAN happen. Luckily, my leak was caught before I was sent home and everything ended up working out. But there are people who don't recover from the complications. I don't regret my decision in the slightest. But it's always good to just be aware and informed on the risks.

[vogue 310]

Great perspective. I had 2 postop hospitalizations and a few hiccups and still no regrets either.

Congrats and continued weightloss

[HHHappy 225]

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad you are feeling good now and are happy with your decision!!

[AnnaMaria 13]

I'm glad you are doing great, and thank you for sharing your story!

[honeyg317 107]

Thanks for sharing! So happy you are feeling well! That was quite an ordeal! The health benefits you have reaped from the sleeve should make it worth it all in the end.

[w8loser 58]

Wow! What an experience. So glad that you're doing well. Thanks for sharing! I do understand the risks & am willing to take them. The bigger risk is being morbidly obese with high blood pressure, high stroke risk, pre-diabetic, joint pain, embarrassing my kids, unable to satisfactorily perform in the bedroom with my husband, etc. etc. etc.

[sleeve30 33]

Great perspective. I had 2 postop hospitalizations and a few hiccups and still no regrets either. Congrats and continued weightloss

What happened to you postop?

[sleeve30 33]

So glad you are well.