I just read in another topic that everyone seems to get a leak test before being discharged. I never had that, and now I want to know how many actually had the test and if it is depending on location.

Please vote!

Susanne

Wow, you're actually the first person Ive heard not getting one. What are they doing for you post-op to make sure you don't have a leak?

Wow, you're actually the first person Ive heard not getting one. What are they doing for you post-op to make sure you don't have a leak?

i did not have a leak test either. I am in Ohio, USA. I guess they just watch for symptoms?

I have no idea, I guess they checked regularly in the hospital and on the post-surgery appointment 2 weeks after.

My surgeon (Dr. James Foote) has done close to 400 sleeves, so it's not some backdoor hack :-)

http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+profile+James+Foote+jkm.html

My surgeon is also VERY careful with the eating plan, I was 2 weeks on Clear liquids, and after that 4 weeks on full liquid (two more weeks..blargh)

I think Dr. Nick in Dallas (major sleeve surgeon) doesn't do leak tests either, and I can't remember if Dr. Cirangle and Jossart are still doing leak tests or not.

My surgeon did 3 on me, and the 3rd and final one is what detected the leak after my revision.

I didn't have a leak test either. I, of course, was fully expection one and asked the surgeon as to why I wasn't having a leak test. He said that during the surgery they test the staple line and mine looked great. He also said that I was doing so well post-surgery that the possibilty of having a leak was unlikely. He mentioned that some people get sick during the test and the throwing up can cause unnessary pressure on the staple line and can cause more harm than good.

He's a veteran surgeon, so I just took his word on it. So far so good!

Nope! My guy doesn't do them routinely (just adds to the expense for self-payors). He said that symptoms tend to present pretty quickly (high fever, rapid heartbeat), and if there's any indication he'll do it, but not unnecessarily.

I had a leak test done the day after my surgery.

Dayton, OH

My leak test was about 5 hours after surgery and it was the first liquid they would let past my lips (so I was anxious to have it done so I could sip some water!) I had to drink a styrofoam cup worth of a heavy liquid that was compared to "crystal light" (lemon flavor). And I did ok for the first 2 big swallows, but I was worried about the last sip staying down. (Thankfully it did). They had a senior radiologist come and check it because most of the regular staff hadn't done sleeves, and he told me right away that everything was perfect.

I had 2 different leak test today. The first one was drinking nasty stuff and the radiologist watched the fluid go thru. The second was eating ice that had blue dye on it. They check the drain to make sure there is no blue dye. Then I got to drink clear liquids.

My doctor does the leak test at the end of surgery before he finishes. He has never had a patient have a leak after surgery. I was sleeved yesterday and home today by 11:30am with a stop to pick up the rx for liquid pain and nexium.

No leak test here unless it was done while I was still under.

My surgery was done in Dallas, TX.

They checked the line at the end of my surgery, then the morning after my surgery. Kansas City, KS

I was sleeved this Tuesday and I definitely had a leak test! It was horrible, but no leak showed up. The barium was the first thing I drank after surgery. This was not good.

They checked the line at the end of my surgery, then the morning after my surgery. Kansas City, KS

Ditto. Hey KCK. Who's your surgeon?

Deb

hey Deb, it was Dr. Fearing with Malley. They were awesome!