Does anyone know the percentage of sleevers that develop a leak?

I just did some reading in these forums and they scared the daylights out of me!!!!

My surgeon has never had a leak - I am hoping I do not get one either!

Lack of long term data makes me nervous!

My surgeon said that 2% of his patients develop the leaks. I haven't got a leak myself. It is rare but does happen. Most of the time it is the patient's fault because they do not adhere to the dietary guidelines.

My surgeon is in Dallas, TX, and his actual stats on VSG leakage is .01% Note the decimal place. This is not a national average, they are Dr. Kim's statistics. This is one reason I went with him. He uses an endoscope for sizing the sleeve so he can visualize the inside of the incision. The very few leaks he's encountered have been from patient non-compliance. These are things to think about when choosing a surgeon, and how you are going to comply when it's done. Hope that helps.

I think national averages are somewhere around 1%. My doc has a percentage rate of 2%. Hoping that I don't develop one, so far, no symptoms, but I'll be paranoid for quite a while.

I think it's unfair to say that all leaks are caused by patient non-compliance. That probably plays a big part in some leaks, but there are other factors.

Because I have Hydradentis Supperative, I was at higher risk. HS causes boils in the groin and underarm areas and is related to obesity, in case anyone has not heard of it.

Other factors certainly make some people more at risk, even if they are 100% compliant.

We've had several sleevers here with leaks, including Tiffykins. I doubt they were any less compliant than the rest of us. They just happened to be in that statistical percentage with complications.

And, to the original poster, most leaks are inconvenient and painful, but they aren't often fatal. Uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure, and other co-morbidities have much higher fatality rates!

Good luck!!

Lissa

Oh, to be sure, there are compliant patients with leaks! Sorry, I meant to qualify that...

Thanks for sharing your opinion Lissa. I have shared once as well that complications can be more than leaks and definitely are not experienced solely as a result of non-compliance. One may be at higher risk if reckless sure...I will just about guarantee those of us here who have developed a leak, abscess, stricture or related condition, have followed directions completely, and maybe to a fault.

Stacey, it is a major surgery. There are risks but, you can get help. Like Lissa said the co-morbidities are the concern and why you are seeking surgery.

How many elderly people have you seen who are obese or morbidly obese? This was the question that helped me make my final decision.

Best to you!

I assumed you meant that, Dooter! . I just wanted to state it because we often feel like we individually are responsible for everything. It's just not true, though. Leaks can happen for many reasons that we have no control over.

Lissa

Amen! Agree 100 percent Lissa

What are symptoms of a leak anyway? My Dr never told me what to look for.

Back in July, I had what they thought was a leak. It was 2.5 months after surgery which is a very RARE time to have one. For three days, I had a random stabbing pain on my left side under my ribs and every time I took a deep breath I felt sore inside. When I had my CT scan they did not see a leak but what appeared to be air surrounding my stomach, they think perhaps I had a pinhole (micro leak) that sealed itself.

I believe typical leak symptoms would also include fever, nausea or vomiting, I didn't have any of these. I was admitted and given IV antibiotics in the hospital for 48 hours and they had me go back to the liquid diet for 2 weeks.

Thanks everyone!

Hi all. This leak business has been freaking me out for the past few days. I'm 16 days post-op, and I've started getting all these weird "could-be-a-leak" sensations--I feel these trickling/oozing feelings all around my sleeve.

They started two days ago, when I know that I challenged Sleevie with soft foods too early (3 tablespoons of hummus in about 15 minutes--definitely a bad idea, and I paid for it!). I was really sore and only able to tolerate Water for about 18 hours afterward.

Now I'm feeling a lot better, just some residual soreness and these weird sensations. I keep telling myself that I probably didn't do any permanent damage with just that little bit of soft food, but I know that all non-compliance is risky. I'm back to liquids for 5 more days before I try mushies again. Just hoping I didn't spring a leak! I'll be really glad when all this anxiety has passed.

I pray I never have a leak, that would be a not so fun thing to go through...not like adjusting to this whole process is fun, but it seems like it could be a multitude of things contributing to leaks, not just non-compliance. Poor wound healing seems like a factor that would contribute. Just some thoughts. there is always risk with all surgeries anyway.

I think it's unfair to say that all leaks are caused by patient non-compliance. That probably plays a big part in some leaks, but there are other factors.

Because I have Hydradentis Supperative, I was at higher risk. HS causes boils in the groin and underarm areas and is related to obesity, in case anyone has not heard of it.

Other factors certainly make some people more at risk, even if they are 100% compliant.

We've had several sleevers here with leaks, including Tiffykins. I doubt they were any less compliant than the rest of us. They just happened to be in that statistical percentage with complications.

And, to the original poster, most leaks are inconvenient and painful, but they aren't often fatal. Uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure, and other co-morbidities have much higher fatality rates!

Good luck!!

Lissa

Lissa, why are folks with hidradenitis supparativa at higher risk of leaks? I don;'t know if I have full blown HS, but I've always had problems with boils, my whole life. I'd never heard any correlation between leaks and HS.