I was talking with an old friend who got bypass almost 5 years ago. She just had he NINETEENTH surgery to repair a leak! She has been in and out of the hosp since right after she had it done. This got me thinking..... Is there like a time limit, of sorts, where after that point the likelihood of a leak either diminishes substantially and disappears all together? I know the sleeve as a stand alone is only a few years old but they have been cutting and stapling stomachs for like 20 years... or I think that's the number I read during my research, so surely there is enough data for a relatively solid answer on this, right? I guess I always just thought that once the tummy had time to heal that leaks wouldn't be an issue anymore unless you got stupid and like overate big time.

My second question doesn't have to do with the sleeve but I did very little in regards to looking into anything more invasive than the sleeve and I am hoping some of you who dug a little deeper may know the answer. She said that they are going to go in for the 20th time and they plan to revise the bypass... HOW?? A bypass stomach is only about as big as an egg to begin with... how can you revise it to be any different/smaller?? I asked her and she said she was wondering the same thing. This is one of my issues with bypass. You are not left with much of a stomach at all and if something goes wrong its not like you can go to wal-mart and buy a new one and with it being so small there isn't any room left for fixing a problem, as far as I can tell at least. Anyone have a clue on how the heck you revise a bypass??

My surgeon told me that leaks do not typically happen after the first 30 days or so. Most frequently they are found in the first 48 hours. Some exceptions include not eating the appropriate things which cause the leak.

Sorry, I don't know about revising a bypass.

My dr. told me that leaks are highly unlikely after the staple line has healed, could be up to 3 months in some people for full healing. But very unlikely after 48 hours. That's why they do the leak test right after and before you go home.

I've heard of undoing an RNY but revising... I don't know what that would entail.

there's a new procedure call ROSE for people who has had the RNY years ago with weight gain.. I don't know if that's what they are going to do for your friend.

ROSE, which stands for Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal, is a new, safer, incisionless, gastric bypass revision. It is not a primary method of weight loss surgery, but a follow-up procedure that is specifically designed for gastric bypass patients with weight regain.

The ROSE procedure is indicated for gastric bypass patients who were initially successful in losing the excess weight but are now regaining some of the lost weight because the stomach and stoma have stretched out and no longer effectively control hunger and food intake.

Thanks everyone! I feel alot better knowing that chances are slim that 5 years after getting this done I will be having leak issues.

My surgeon said the time when leaks show up most frequently is in the 3 to 4 week range. After that it would be rare however in my case I had what they think was a pinhole leak that fixed itself around week 11.

My surgeon said the same thing. After the 4th week, your stomach is healed, therefore, you shouldn't experience a leak!

Kelly

The ROSE technique isn't effective. People lose 20lbs initially and then gain it back when the restriction goes, so I hope she's not getting that. You may also hear about StomaphyX and that's even less effective than the ROSE or POSE technique (it doesn't tighten the entrance of exit to the stomach).

there's a new procedure call ROSE for people who has had the RNY years ago with weight gain.. I don't know if that's what they are going to do for your friend.

ROSE, which stands for Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal, is a new, safer, incisionless, gastric bypass revision. It is not a primary method of weight loss surgery, but a follow-up procedure that is specifically designed for gastric bypass patients with weight regain.

The ROSE procedure is indicated for gastric bypass patients who were initially successful in losing the excess weight but are now regaining some of the lost weight because the stomach and stoma have stretched out and no longer effectively control hunger and food intake.

The ROSE technique isn't effective. People lose 20lbs initially and then gain it back when the restriction goes, so I hope she's not getting that. You may also hear about StomaphyX and that's even less effective than the ROSE or POSE technique (it doesn't tighten the entrance of exit to the stomach).

She said she didn't know. She and I were both under the impression that they were going to somehow go in and fix the leak issue with some sort of revision...

The RNY pouch is made from the persons intestines. They still have their full stomach but is considered "blind" because the pouch acts as their new smaller stomach. I have read of people having it "took down" I have also heard of them banding the pouch. I suppose they could make the pouch smaller. I have seen people talk about revising from the RNY to the sleeve, which I guess would mean the pouch would be taken down and then their old full sized tummy would be sleeved. I am not sure if they would leave the intestines rerouted I guess if the person was having nutrtional or protein deficiencies, they would undo that part maybe? It would depend on the dr and the particular patients issues.

It is sad that after this long she's still having problems and has had that many operations. I would probably get othet bariatric drs opnion before more surgeries if I were her.

The RNY pouch is made from the persons intestines. They still have their full stomach but is considered "blind" because the pouch acts as their new smaller stomach. I have read of people having it "took down" I have also heard of them banding the pouch. I suppose they could make the pouch smaller. I have seen people talk about revising from the RNY to the sleeve, which I guess would mean the pouch would be taken down and then their old full sized tummy would be sleeved. I am not sure if they would leave the intestines rerouted I guess if the person was having nutrtional or Protein deficiencies, they would undo that part maybe? It would depend on the dr and the particular patients issues.

It is sad that after this long she's still having problems and has had that many operations. I would probably get othet bariatric drs opnion before more surgeries if I were her.

The dr. she is seeing is the only one covered by her insurance.

That's pretty scary to think about all that rerouting and undoing and redoing with your intestines and stomach. But I would guess the surgeons know what they're doing and the body is an amazing thing. I hope your friend does well and gets everything worked out.