Be Careful

keith40 · 03-19-2007, 10:08 AM

Well, today is March 19, 2007. I got up this morning and gave myself an I V anti-biotic. I took three more anti-biotics orally. I will repeat this process every eight hours all day, for at least the rest of this week. On March 8th I went to the hospital to be banded. Everything went well. I remember waking up in recovery thinking, wow, the pain really isn't that bad. I remember going to my room for my overnight stay. I was happy that the worst was over, and that I would finally have control over my out of control weight gain.
Sometime later that evening, I was given ice chips to let melt, and that was when I knew something was bad wrong. As the liquid hit my stomach, I felt a searing hot pain spread from my stomach to my left side. The pain continued unabated all night long. I took morphine every time it was allowed and counted the minutes until I could get more relief from what I know was the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. Sometime in the middle of the night I spiked a temperature of 102.9. I knew this wasn't normal either.
In the morning I was taken for a sip test. (btw, that stuff tastes terrible) A few minutes later I was back in my room still in pain. My doctor came to my room and told me the sip test had revealed a hole in my stomach. Gastric juices and water had been leaking into my abdomin all night. At 2:30 that afternoon, I went back to surgery. The band was removed, and the hole was repaired. I spent the next three days in TCU with an NG tube keeping my stomach empty. During that three days all I had was ice chips. On the Monday after my surgery I was taken back downstairs for another sip test to insure that the hole had been repaired. After finding no leaks, the NG tube was removed and I was given a clear liquid diet for a couple of days.
During all this time I was also in the care of an infectious disease doctor, who cultured the stuff growing in my abdomin It was determined that I had a staf infection. On Thursday, eight days later, I was finally released from the hospital with a pic line.(sp) I have to continue on IV medications at home at least through the end of the week.
Before I had surgery, I had done alot of research. I felt that this option was the safest option out there, and it may be. The point I guess that I am making is that nothing is for sure. I don't know where I will go from here. I have a lot of thinking and healing left to do. I know the band has been a blessing for many people, but it very nearly killed me. For those of you about to be banded I wish you luck, and pray for you to be successful. I have dealt with being overweight practically all of my adult life, and understand the desperation people feel over these issues. Just understand that odds of 200:1 are pretty good as long as you are not the "1".

Regards,
Keith

marys · 03-19-2007, 10:43 AM

Keith,
So sorry about your pain and troubles. Thank you for writing and sharing your experience with us - we need to hear it all. I'm not clear on a few things and hope you'll be able to write again! I am wondering if it was really the band that did this or the doctor making a mistake? How did the band make the hole? Just curious. Hope your recovery is quick and you are feeling better soon. Take care,

**Alexandra** · 03-19-2007, 11:15 AM

Oh Keith, what a painful and scary experience!! I hope you'll be fully recovered and back to 100% very soon.

It's very unfortunate that this happened to you, indeed; if you're the 1 in 200 who has complications statistics don't amount to much. Of course, there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to ensure accidents don't happen. Stick with reputable, experienced providers and the chances are indeed very good that everything will go swimmingly. Sadly, nothing is absolutely guaranteed and things can go wrong.

Was there any indication as to how the hole there in the first place? Surgical error or something else?

keith40 · 03-19-2007, 05:52 PM

The answer to the question is that noone knows what happened. The hole was located just above the band, so I kind of doubt that the band caused the problem, but to be honest, that is just a guess. My surgeon is very accomplished and was completely baffled at what had happened. What I do know is that I have never felt pain like the pain I had prior to my second surgery.

Regards,
Keith

lisah25 · 03-19-2007, 05:53 PM

This is a good reminder Keith. While this is a pretty safe surgery, it's not risk free and anyone researching it needs to think about some of the "what ifs".

Thanks for sharing this.

Elisabethsew · 03-19-2007, 06:31 PM

Hi Keith,

I'm glad that you were in the hospital overnight so that this complication could be detected before your condition became a lot worse. Thankfully, PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) lines make it possible for patients to get antibiotics IV and recover at home. Give yourself time to heal and then worry about if you're going to go ahead and have the band surgery again.

girlinnyc · 03-21-2007, 10:28 PM

Keith,

What a terrible experience. I hope you are getting better and feeling better day by day. And, if you have any doubts about your care (though it seems like you are seeing plenty of good dr's)--but if you're worried--go for more opinions! You may want to make sure that the 10 days of antibiotics are enough--sometimes nasty infections must be treated with antibiotics for much longer. Consult the dr again if you have any questions.

Hope you come back and update us on your progress. Glad you are alive and here to tell the story.

Best wishes,
girlin
nyc

Fluffy · 03-22-2007, 12:23 PM

Keith Thank you for sharing your experience with us! I wish you speedy healing. I am sorry that you have had to suffer like this!

LeeInDe. · 03-22-2007, 09:00 PM

WOW, What a horrible thing to have happened. I am glad you shared your story, and too am glad that you were in the hospital overnight when it happened.
I hope you continue to get well, and you will have the oportunity to make the decision about WLS again.

keith40 · 03-23-2007, 11:41 AM

To all who have expressed their concern, thank you. It has been two weeks since my second surgery. Today, I am going to the infectious diseases doctor. He had told me that if everything was going well, he would probably remove the picc line today. It has been days since I ran a fever so I am hopeful. Yesterday, I visited my surgeon and he removed the drain from my abdomine. I feel like I am getting stronger every day. Been walking more and more each day. On a positive note, I am down thirty pounds from the day that I started the pre-operative liquid diet. Thanks once again to everyone who has shown such a caring attitude. Take care, and good luck to everyone.

Regards,
Keith

LeeInDe. · 03-23-2007, 03:58 PM

I am glad you are doing much better, and getting stronger. A good thing that you were most likely healthy to begin with.
If one good things comes out of this, at least you lost some weight!
Good luck to you!

momlambert · 03-23-2007, 05:28 PM

That's horrible what happened to you, Keith. Good luck in your recovery! I hope you weren't self-pay--that was one of my biggest fears when I had my surgery Monday is that I would have complications and none would be covered since the surgery wasn't covered. I hope you had good insurance. Of course, when it comes to our health, money doesn't really matter. But I do hope you are healthy and not set back financially because of the complications--that would be an extra blow. Good luck!