38 days in the hospital. exploratory lap looking for leak left me with massive pneumonia, pleural effusions, 5 antibiotics,abcesses over spleen and liver from the small leak, chest tube drains, picc line, fevers, i was told i had a sub clinical leak. discharged with jpeg which requires non-stop care. home health nurses 4 days per week, genrally just bad luck. thank goodness for my family. i do not remember the first 2 weeks or so, which is a blessing.the tpn and tube feedings slowed my weight loss......down 25#. surgery was 7-24. i wish evryone the best with the journey!!!!!!!!

I am so pleased to hear that you have a supportive family. God allowed you to endure all that you had gone through to add to your experiences and to be an inside source to someone who may be taking their surgical procedure lightly forgetting that it is a major surgery with residuals and complications. Many think weight loss surgery is a nip and tuck to get skinny. Some of us know first hand that we have to prepare ourselves for the unexpected, because everyone is different and the procedure is so diverse regarding outcomes...you never know completely what you are in-stored for... as with any major surgery. I am so thankful that you are on your way to much needed rest both mentally and physically. Just think of yourself as like a piece of coal that has been placed in blazing heat at high temperatures so once taken out of the heat and polished up you'll come out of this shining like a "Diamond in the Rough"! Keep smiling and I'll be praying for you and all those involved in creating your memorable story.

Why is it that American doctors seem to have more leaks? I just hear about it way more than Mexican doctors. Do the Mexican doctors have more experience?

She had surgery in Mexico with dr Reyes

38 days in the hospital. exploratory lap looking for leak left me with massive pneumonia' date=' pleural effusions, 5 antibiotics,abcesses over spleen and liver from the small leak, chest tube drains, picc line, fevers, i was told i had a sub clinical leak. discharged with jpeg which requires non-stop care. home health nurses 4 days per week, genrally just bad luck. thank goodness for my family. i do not remember the first 2 weeks or so, which is a blessing.the tpn and tube feedings slowed my weight loss......down 25#. surgery was 7-24. i wish evryone the best with the journey!!!!!!!![/quote']

There are two separate stories here about leaks. The first was with dr almanza in mx. The second was with dr nain in VA.

I'm glad you pulled through. What a horror show for you. It must have been extremely stressful and scary to go through all of this!

I don't mean any offense to those who have had their surgery in Mexico, but the thought of having it done there just frightens the hell out of me. Maybe it's because I'm a nurse...but I just wouldnt feel safe having this type of major surgery (or any surgery) there. Is it a large number of patients? Is it primarily cost driven or that they relax the qualifiers to have WLS?

i have my bsn, phn and did extensive research. plus, severall of my nursing peers had been there, some more than twice. since there was no evidence of a leak, and believe me, kaiser tried and tried to locate one, they went to the assumption that it was subclinical. this was b/c of the abcess over my spleen and liver. the pneumonia was hosptial aquired during explo. lap at richmond kaiser and then things just spiraled. i still have a lot of nausea, still vomit about every other day. my jpeg for tube feeding is a pain but now that i can take food by mouth i get to be off the machine for 8 hours per day! food - hit or miss. technically i guess i would be about able to introduce more foods but i takr it slow cuz i hate being nauseas. zofran does not even help anymore. so i rest a lot, weight loss is slower d/t the calories in my feedings, but well on the way to recovery. by the end of the year, i should be back to myself. and btw, i made a terrible patient!!!i lost all coping skills and sobbed daily. thank goodness for family!

i have my bsn, phn and did extensive research. plus, severall of my nursing peers had been there, some more than twice. since there was no evidence of a leak, and believe me, kaiser tried and tried to locate one, they went to the assumption that it was subclinical. this was b/c of the abcess over my spleen and liver. the pneumonia was hosptial aquired during explo. lap at richmond kaiser and then things just spiraled. i still have a lot of nausea, still vomit about every other day. my jpeg for tube feeding is a pain but now that i can take food by mouth i get to be off the machine for 8 hours per day! food - hit or miss. technically i guess i would be about able to introduce more foods but i takr it slow cuz i hate being nauseas. zofran does not even help anymore. so i rest a lot, weight loss is slower d/t the calories in my feedings, but well on the way to recovery. by the end of the year, i should be back to myself. and btw, i made a terrible patient!!!i lost all coping skills and sobbed daily. thank goodness for family!

I am so sorry that you have had to endure this. You can hear a million times that the chance of a leak is so tiny (1%), but you never think it will happen to you. And it can happen with the most experience surgeon. I am praying for you and a speedy recovery. I know 2 others that have had leaks, and it is a long road to recovery, but you have made it past the worst of it. And I know it sounds crazy, but the 2 people I know still say that they do not regret having the surgery. I hope in the end you will feel better than ever! Take care!

Wow!!!! As im reading your first post im like thats it im canceling. Kinda scared me but after seeing that your better. I was relieved. Still scared but glad things got better for you. Im 250 pounds and am on the liquid diet. Having surgery Oct 10th. Thank you for sharing your story.

Wow that is sad and I am in the insurance process. I will not get discouraged but I feel that doctor should be closed down because this surgery is serious and those were extreme errors.

GOD WILL NEVER TAKE YOU WHERE THE GRACE OF GOD WON'T PROTECT YOU.

I will keep you in my prayers.

Praying you have a speedy recovery with no more complications.

CoolBreeze

Amen!!

I'm so sorry for all you've been thru and I hope all works out positively for you!! Best Wishes to you!!!