Surgeon forgot to attached esophagus to stomach

[wicked 61]

I'm SO sorry to hear about what happened to you.

Please please tell me that you are raising hell about what they did/suing the hospital/making sure that he never gets to operate on another person ever again. They cannot get away with such criminal incompetence.

Wishing you a speedy and SAFE recovery.

[leag78 469]

I'm sorry for your horrible experience and I'm glad you're recovering. You are truly blessed to have gone through such a scary situation and recover. Its one thing to forget and lock your keys in the car but its another thing to forget to attach the esophagus to your patient's stomach which could potentially cost them their life. That is so unforgivable.

[Guest jessicaanna]

Thank you everyone. Long road ahead and taking it day by day. I do have an attorney but getting medical records has been a problem. Very slow recovery and very slow legal battle. I appreciate everyone's nice words.

[hikergirl14 80]

I am surprised that he didn't have you do an upper GI before leaving the hospital. This way they can totally see if there are any leaks. Total lack of follow through. Sorry you went through all of that.

[TristanNicole 169]

That is absolutely awful, so sorry you had that experience, hopefully you will recover quickly and your WLS will have a positive outcome! They aren't even suppose to cut your stomach from your esophagus are they?

[tobias72 0]

Had my surgery in march had a abscess had 3 drains put in due to not draining properly then had Fluid in the lungs and had a chest tube placed has been hell. Now things seem to be getting better slowly but I feel like I'm pushed back . The only thing I need is to have the nausea stop then I will be in good shape does anyone have nausea still?

[Guest jessicaanna]

Oh my. Glad ur feeling better. I take zofran for my nausea. I still have it and im almost 6 months post op. But its getting better everyday.

[drmeow 323]

In RnY they don't detach the esophagus from the stomach; they detach the new small stomach pouch from the rest of it and then re-attach that to the part of the small intestine that is brought up. So it sounds like it was the stomach to intestinal anastomosis that wasn't done correctly. either way it sounds like an awful time for you and I hope you continue to recover.

[BypassedLife 39]

I think you should talk with a malpractice lawyer. I'm so glad you are in recovery.

[Guest jessicaanna]

Thank you. Everyday seems to be a struggle.

[QuilterGal 216]

In RnY they don't detach the esophagus from the stomach; they detach the new small stomach pouch from the rest of it and then re-attach that to the part of the small intestine that is brought up. So it sounds like it was the stomach to intestinal anastomosis that wasn't done correctly. either way it sounds like an awful time for you and I hope you continue to recover.

This was what I was thinking. The esophagus stays intact after RNY.

[meezer953 1]

My complications didn't start until 2 yrs out. (I am 14 yrs out) Got extremely I'll and had intussuseption, perforated ulcer, diseased gall bladder. It took 3 days of agony for the hospital to get a dr in to see me. I kept begging for my bypass dr but he kept telling them I wasn't his patient. Finally one of his partners that doesn't do bariatric surgery came. I woke up the next day in icu on a ventilator and was told had this dr not shown up when he did, I would have been dead in 30 min. I spent a month in the hospital. That was 2003. Since that time, I have had 14 more surgeries for bowel blockages, internal/ventral hernias, removal of infected mesh from hernia repairs. I had a biliary catheter for 8 mos because the surgeon damaged my sphincter of oddi when removing gall bladder. That also caused me to have pacreatitis. Ended up having sphinctoplasty. All the fascia has been removed from my abdomen and replaced with prosthetic mesh which is sewn to my hip bones and ribs because there is no tissue to sew it to left in my abdomen. I have had 2 component separations where the split the muscle on your side and pull them across the abdomen to reinforce. Recently I had the 14th surgery because the idiots that did my first surgery didn't tack down my roux properly and it was flopping over causing a blockage. I also have a gastric fistula because my pouch was not properly stapled off which causes reflux which I NEVER had before the bypass. In addition I've had hospitalizations for uncontrollable nausea and vomiting. None of my stays have been less than 7 days. Most range in the 2-3 week period. Now I am having nausea and vomiting and have been told they don't know why and suspect it's something I'm gonna have to live with. The next option for finding out is more surgery which the surgeon doesn't want to do unless absolutely necessary. I agree. I am 62 and I just can't imagine the rest of my life not knowing when I'm going to be sick..it's very random. I'm usually in pain, which I've gotten used to. I'm now considering going to Duke to see if they can help me. I will say on days I feel good, I feel very very good. I've maintained my wgt loss, 250 lbs, and swim and run. Those are the things that keep me sane. I am weary and find that there's no reason to regret my decision (although at times I do). It is what it is and I can't change the past.