Twisted Stomach after Sleeve Surgery

[tessies 224]

I am a seasoned sleeve patient. Yesterday I had a endoscopy because of pain in my stomach and uncontrollable reflux/gerd. Doctor told me I have a hiatal hernia with a twisted stomach. We did not have time to discuss this and I have a follow up appointment in a few days. Has anyone here experienced this?? I'm not sure how this happens? I'm not sure how you fix it, again I'm going to talk with my doctor in a few days, but I want to hear if others have had this experience.

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[momof2tx 13]

I was told I had a hiatal hernia while doing all my pre-op stuff and had my endoscopy done. My surgeon did not repair it as he said it would complicate the recovery. But, I have heard of people that did have it repaired and everything was fine. I have never heard of a twisted stomach, so I can't comment on that. I'm sorry you're having complications with the GERD/Reflux. Prayers....

[hildegardhamhocker 14]

I had a large hiatal hernia that was repaired when I had my sleeve done. Very shortly after, I found that I had problems with liquid and food going through my small stomach. Denser food seemed to go through a little better, but liquids would take from an hour to several hours and I could hear the liquid gurgling through. I had an endoscopy done and and the diagnosis was a twisted sleeve. The picture from the endoscopy procedure looked similar to twisting a towel and opening it up to see the twist inside. Eleven months after my original sleeve surgery, I had to have a laparoscopic outpatient procedure to untwist the sleeve and tack it in places to keep it open. This was very successful, and I have had no further problems. Although it happens fairy rarely, my surgeon was familiar with the problem and had corrected it before. A knowledgeable, competent surgeon can easily fix the problem. (I have my own theory about why this may have happened, although there was no medical explanation given. I think my hiatal hernia was so large, and a major portion of stomach was twisted above the diaphragm, that the stomach that was left twisted to the position it had been in so long before. With the little amount of stomach left, it twisted more and more easily than it might have otherwise.) The good news is that it can easily be fixed. Good luck!

[tessies 224]

Thank you for your reply!! My surgeon suggest I would need a revision to bypass. I'm against that completely. I will discuss this with him when I see him Friday. Again, thank you for your reply. I feel better.

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Thank you for your reply!! My surgeon suggest I would need a revision to bypass. I'm against that completely. I will discuss this with him when I see him Friday. Again, thank you for your reply. I feel better.

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[hildegardhamhocker 14]

Short follow-up - My surgeon never even suggested having to switch the sleeve to a bypass. It may be that your surgeon is not familiar with this problem and/or repair. If that is the case, I suggest you find another surgeon who knows how to take care of the problem. (I found articles about it on the internet, too.) Let us know what you find out when you see your surgeon again.

[tessies 224]

So I had my follow up, he is sending me to the Cleveland clinic. My case is far to complicated. I should add prior to my sleeve I had a band, which was revised once. So I am a re-re-re- revision. He said his opinion is I need a second opinion. So I will wait.

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[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

You've got what's called a "stricture."

You can google that term and learn a lot about it.

Best to you -- most of them are fixable, by the way.

[revyinut 2]

Did you ever get this problem corrected?

[tessies 224]

Yes. I had gastric bypass.

[tessies 224]

And I had obstruction not a stricture.

[revyinut 2]

I also had band first and now VSG. The GERD I'm experiencing sometimes feels unbearable. I often feel like I have food coming back up even though it's been over 12 hours since eating. I also don't want to have the bypass. Did it at least solve your stomach pain problems?

[tessies 224]

Bypass solved everything! I’m the healthiest I have ever been, plus I’m no longer on any type of acid controlling meds. I had reflux so bad that not even 280mg of omeprazole a day coupled with tums would relieve it. The obstruction pain was terrible, that was towards the end.

[revyinut 2]

That's wonderful! Happy to hear that - thank you so much for answering my questions 😊

[tessies 224]

I hope you find relief. If you have any other questions just ask. I have been a weight loss surgery patient since 2006. I’m sorry you are suffering!

[adk5112 0]

I am a 2012 gastric sleeve patient from Mexico. Since June, 2019, I have not been feeling well. Excessive heartburn that Omeprazole will not touch at all. In 2018, I had a hiatal hernia repair and found out in October, 2019 that I have another hiatal hernia and was told it cannot be repaired. I finally met with another surgeon and she discovered I have an angulation in my sleeve. I have noticed since I have started to become extremely sick that I have severe Constipation, which I have never experienced with the sleeve. I am now drinking Smooth Move tea every night which has worked wonders for me, but now the past two mornings I am experiencing these very painful cramps and I am gassy all of the time. I noticed when I would not have BM's for days I would bloat up like a blow fish and would be in a lot of pain. I was told I will need a revision to bypass to repair the hernia and the angulation, but due to Covid it is slowing things up a bit. Plus, this new surgeon is making me see the nutritionist and the psychiatrist. I am hoping my insurance covers with no problem for revision since my BMI is only a 30 and they want a 35 with underlying issues. Surgeon said I cannot gain weight due to it will make it more difficult for her to do surgery on me. Anyone on here that has experienced this, what did you do for the constipation, stomach pain and regurgitation until you got relief? Some days the Omeprazole works and other days I am choking and thinking I am having a heart attack.