Unexpected Complication From Plication Surgery

[Zanthina 0]

Hello Everyone,

I want to start off by saying I had the plication surgery with Dr. Corvala in Tijuana in July 2010. From July to mid December 2010 I had no problems. I had a quick recovery and had managed to lose 60 or so pounds. Then, in mid December, a serious complication occurred. I'm pasting below an email I sent to my patient experience manager, Courtney Talmadge, in response to an email from her asking what happened and how I was doing.

"On December 21 I went to my local emergency room (Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, MO) with abdominal pain, pain in my left shoulder when I breathed in, and dry heaving. They did an xray and ct scan and found what they referred to as free air in my abdominal cavity. They also found that the contrast Fluid I drank for the procedure was leaking from my stomach into my abdominal cavity. At that time the attending physician told me I was being transported to the University Hospital in Columbia.

I was transported by ambulance to the University of Missouri Hospital. I was met there by a surgical team from the bariatrics department. I explained the procedure I had received from Dr. Corvala. The surgeons told me that I needed surgery immediately to repair a perforation in my stomach that was allowing air and fluids to pass into my abdominal cavity.

After I woke up from the surgery I was told that the perforation occurred because part of my stomach was not receiving adequate blood flow and perforated as a result. The surgeons explained that, in order to attempt to prevent future occurrence, the surgeons had loosened plication stitching. The surgeons put a tissue patch over the hole to prevent leakage and to allow the hole to heal. They told me and my family that the portion of the stomach where the hole had formed was white in color from being cut off from adequate blood flow for so long and that they had almost decided to resect that part of the stomach rather than repair it. They told me and my family that, in their opinion, it's very possible this will happen to me again in the future because of the damage to my stomach and other areas that hadn't been receiving proper blood flow.

I was in the hospital from 12/21-12/26, spending my Christmas there. It took 4 days to rehydrate my body, because the hole that had formed in my stomach had let all the fluids I drank into my abdominal cavity. I had a tube coming out of my left side abdomen to drain the fluids for the duration of my stay. I had a tube coming up from my stomach and out of my nose to drain any fluids from my stomach for the first 3 days I was there. It was a horrific and traumatic experience for me and my family.

At my follow-up appointment on January 7th I spoke with one of the bariatric surgeons at the University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia, MO about what happened. He explained to me that, due to a technical error that occurred during my plication surgery, the plication stitching had not allowed portions of my stomach to get adequate blood flow. This caused a part of the stomach to start dying and a hole formed. Also on Jan 7 I had another xray with contrast to see if there was any further leakage. The results of this test show no further leakage but that my stomach is very swollen at this time.

I am continuing to be monitored through Missouri Bariatric Services, a University of Missouri Hospital Clinic.

I believe this to be a dire complication. I was told when I came to the ER that, due to the severity of my condition I was about 24 hours from sepsis and death. It is very important that Dr. Corvala, his team, and potential patients know about this possibility. This was not mentioned to me as a possible complication of the plication surgery. In fact, I had asked about the possibility that that folding and stitching could harm the stomach and had also asked about cutting off blood flow to the folded portion of the stomach. I was told plication procedure was done in such a way as to retain the health of the stomach and that blood continues to flow regularly to the folded part of the stomach. I was also told that the plication procedure was much safer because there was no risk of leaks because no portion of the stomach is cut away and there is no staple line. Potential patients thinking of getting the plication procedure should know the possibilities."

It should be noted that I asked my surgeons here in Missouri if there was anything I did that could have caused this complication. They have informed me that this complication was not at all my fault, but due to an error committed by the surgeon (Dr. Corvala) during my plication surgery. If you decide you're interested in the plication procedure and go through Dr. Corvala I would suggest you ask him about my case.

To be perfectly honest, I'm happy with the results of my surgery. My restriction is great, my weight loss has been what I expected. However, as noted above, I almost lost my life. I wanted to share my story because when the surgery was described to me it was being advertised as a safer alternative to other surgeries and that the risk for complication was very low. As noted above, I even asked Dr. Corvala about blood flow to the stomach with the plication surgery and was told that the blood flow would be retained and the stomach tissue would remain healthy. For me, this was not the case. Please feel free to ask questions.

-Alexa Thompson

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I'm glad your ok... so scary!

[Rootman 1,101]

Yes, scary. So glad you caught it in time. My prayers are with you.

[Oopsseedaisy 90]

Thank you for posting and providing a warning for others. I am so glad you are doing better now.

[PamelaAM 16]

So scary! I think it is really important that you posted here so that others that are considering a plication as opposed to a regular sleeve know that it CAN happen. Thank goodness you are ok but what an awful thing to experience!

I know it is all such a personal decision but I've never been really clear as to why someone would select a plication as opposed to a sleeve and leave that unused portion of the stomach in place. Have people ever really gone in for a reversal? Just really curious.

Again, thank goodness you are fine and congratulations on your weight loss :-) Your note is a great reminder that none of us should ever ignore signs of our bodies not feeling right.

[Tiffykins 672]

I'll keep you in my thoughts during this difficult time. I have actually read other stories similar to yours with the plication surgery, and the pleating causing major damage to the remaining stomach tissue. I do wish you the very best, and thank you for sharing your experience.

[tmo 0]

That sounds scary. Is there any tests that we can have done to see if there is an issue? I was also told nothing about this kind of thing happening.

[NotSoLittleMermaid 14]

Thank you so much for sharing. I am sorry that it happened but hopefully you'll recover completely. Our thoughts are with you.

[MINI-Me 196]

Glad to hear that you are ok ... Thanks for posting. I think we sometimes get a it "flippant" about All WLS and forget that it is MAJOR surgery and there is a risk of complications.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[M2G 1,836]

That is very scary, and I'm glad you are ok. I am glad you posted this, because there are risks and complications that can happen with every surgery and it is really good information for people to know. I'm sorry you had to go through this, and wish you the best in your continuing journey for health.

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,281]

I am so very sorry to hear of your awful complications. My prayers go out to you and in hopes that you will recover 100%. Hugs. I completely agree with those above that mention the risks of the surgeries we go through - I just hope this case does not not happen to very many.

[Zanthina 0]

I'll keep you in my thoughts during this difficult time. I have actually read other stories similar to yours with the plication surgery, and the pleating causing major damage to the remaining stomach tissue. I do wish you the very best, and thank you for sharing your experience.

Hello!

I am actually looking for others who have had experiences similar to mine. Can you point me in the right direction?

Lexy

[Tiffykins 672]

Hello!

I am actually looking for others who have had experiences similar to mine. Can you point me in the right direction?

Lexy

One them posted her story on OH last year sometime during the summer, and I did not bookmark it because the plication wasn't being marketed, and I honestly never thought it would be marketed as rampantly as it has been. One lady that I had spoken to in depth because she was a revision patient, never shared her story because she felt like she would be "chastised" and only spoke to me about in confidence on OH via private messages and email. She didn't want to scare newbies, and she didn't want other patients coming after her like they did when she started posting about a revision from the band.

I have not spoken to her in about 3 months because she had recovered, and she wanted to "move on". I will, however, message her on OH to see if I can her to reply and send her your request for contact.

[Zanthina 0]

That would be great, thank you so much!

[genepha 47]

So sorry to hear about your troubles.

I'm hoping you have a quick recovery. Thanks for posting this information.

I'm scheduled for plication in a couple of weeks and have been reading everything

that's available. It's very hard to find information about the procedure because

it's fairly new. Please keep us posted on your progress and your healing.

genepha

lapband removal and plication scheduled Feb. 7, 2011