1/29/13 - Update/Edit:

As several have inquired about the timeline and were confused when i said her surgery was in May but she's been on a feeding tube for two years. The surgery was May of 2010. I was specifying the month only as a point of reference for the point at which the issue became critical (July 2010) and how long she was in the hospital that first time (into October 2010). She was also hospitalized for a few months in January 2011 when the stomache leak/infection spread through the diaphragm and into her lungs, and again the following spring and summer of 2011 for the same issues. Sorry for the confusion.

Also - I agree that the bulk of the issues centered around follow up care - which is why I was so specific about where and by whom she was being treated. But I quickly learned that such leaks and subsequent fistulas are NOT uncommon with this type of surgery - I never said they were the majority. Additionally Physicians who are now caring for her have previously cared for individuals who suffered similar, though not quite as critical, issues after having this type of surgery. So that is legitimate.

Good point on the Hipaa item - but I'm not sure that applies to family or friends sharing information they are aware of. I have no professional or legal obligation to her or her care and am not a POA or medical care provider.

Thanks to all who have read and responded - I'm still reading through them all.

****************************************************************

Original post:

I have not had gastric sleeve, but my sister has and this is her horror story. In the month after her May surgery, by Dr. Chua of Aurora Sinai in Milwaukee, my sister (Jane) came down with flu like symptoms. Although she contacted her primary physician, who was aware of the recent surgery, and I believe she had an office visit with Dr. Chua, nobody showed any concern about infection. This is despite the fact that EVERYBODY knows that infection mimics flu like symptoms and it was nowhere near flu season. Nobody ever did any scans post surgery to determine of there was any issue with the healing of the internal surgery area - even though I have since learned that other patients had experienced similar issues to what my sister was about to go through.

It turned out (after three ER visits in three days, despite the fact that I said I was worried about infection from the very first visit) that a staple hadn't held and that food/fluid had been leaking into her abdomen from the stomach causing a MASSIVE infection. By the time Aurora Lakeland in Elkhorn paid any attention to this she was almost dead. She barely made it through and it was literally touch and go for WEEKS!! AND that hospital wouldn't even treat her because they don't do bariatric surgeries - she had to be airlifted to Milwaukee.

What followed were numerous surgeries, months in ICU and then regular hospital (from July 4th weekend into October), an induced coma with her hands strapped to the bed so she wouldn't inadvertantly pull out tubes and wires, being intubated for breathing assistance, additional infections, memory loss of that entire time, and leaving on a feeding tube. She has been on that feeding tube for over two years now.

Oh she's thin alright. woohoo. But she gets her food from a bag hanging on an iv rack and has to grind her meds and flush them through the feeding tube line, as well as a drain that collects Fluid from her abdomen and open wounds that need daily care. She has NO muscles left. She probably couldn't walk a block if she was allowed to.

She came home from that hospital stay with a GIANT open wound the length of her abdomen - I mean it was big enough for me to stick both my hands into - and a wound vac installed in it to constantly vacuum up the fluid and goop that goes along with healing. That fluid drained into a plastic container that hung from tube(s) coming out of her abdomen - which she had to have with her always. It was all very painful and really gross.

That was just the first hospitalization. By January she was back in the hospital with another massive infection that had burned through her diaphragm and into her lungs. This time she spent her time in pulmonary ICU. You see they told her to start trying to eat - that they thought the holes in her stomach had closed, but they didn't do regular scans to verify this....again! They were wrong. Again.

Only this time her primary physician, Dr. Rosol of Aurora Lake Geneva, had diagnosed her with pneumonia over the phone and had given her a prescription not even strong enough to deal with pneumonia. So when she didn't get better, by the time the Aurora ER took her seriously she was again near death. This time they had to do lung surgery AND abdominal surgery to clear out and treat the raging infection caused by fluid and matter leaking from the stomach into everywhere.

So apparently this type of thing isn't that uncommon with this surgery, nor are the "fistulas" that develop as a result of this complication from this type of surgery. If the tissue around this fistula isn't so damaged that it can heal on its own it could take years. If it's damaged - as hers was from all that infection - there is no sewing it closed and it doesn't heal on its own. Imagine being on a feeding tube for the rest of your life - never tasting food, never enjoying a meal or a drink or a dessert or a holiday with your family again. Never a chocolate bar, or a bowl of Cereal, or a salad, or a glass of juice. NOTHING. All because someone convinced you that gastric sleeve surgery was the answer.

So if you are considering this surgery, don't. It's just not worth the risk. I know, if my sister could go back, she would choose fat over this lack of a life any day of the week. I grew up thin and am now fat and I would NEVER EVER EVER have a surgery to reduce my weight. Although I haven't been able to be disciplined enough to do it I know the only solution is eat less, move more. Two steps. The only solution.

Wow...can you really say that and look yourself in the mirror? Come on' date=' people can have this surgery and feel negative about it's place in the world. Especially a family member who's had to sit and watch this from the outside. That's just not fair.[/quote']

Why is it not fair ????? If I don't believe something or the intention of the person writing it I feel I have the right to express how I feel... Last time I checked I still live in a free country and have the same rights as you. You conveyed your opinion and someone else did theirs . That person did one post and never logged back in . The last few line is just for the sole purpose of scaring people.It is what it is

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Just a thought...this person had a different experience and is sharing it, much as others on this forum do and I'm reading from your comment you feel that should be allowed right? She didn't come back...sheesh would you when you are attacked with such vigor?

If you are in doubt, that's ok of course, but wouldn't it be better, just in case you are wrong, to keep that to yourself and just move along to the next thread verses beating up someone who felt the need to share their story? You might be wrong, which then makes your comments extremely dismissive and hurtful to the person who posted their story. If others could do the same than this type of story would not incite such animosity. Much of the frustration expressed is at those who said such hurtful things to someone who potentially was suffering. I don't think you want to be that kind of person do you?

I was speaking to someone else I quoted but to suppose that someone who professes horror and suffering is just having a jealous fit...that's kind of below the belt don't you think? There is having an opinion, and being cruel. If your opinion is wrong than that's a pretty horrific statement to have made when instead you could just move on by.

This is precisely why some surgeons use drains. With a JP drain in place (yes, even though there is a small risk of that getting infected too) leeks will be detected immediately. That being said, there is something fishy about the timeline of this story but I will give OP the benefit of the doubt that they have made some kind of error rather than declaring it fake.

That being said, this is what is called anecdotal evidence. It's evidence from personal experience and may or MAY NOT be reliable do to not having all the facts, cherry picking information for an agenda, and the fact that its nonrepresentational of a typical outcome.

We all know the risks of things like this, but the facts are still the facts, and cases like these, while it is POSSIBLE and I think everyone could be served well to remember that, are extremely rare and even had OP's sister taken more initiative in being an informed advocate for herself and her own health, she would not have settled for being diagnosed over the phone before everything became so terrible. I'm not stating this to say that we should blame a patient in a bad situation, but its important to remember personal responsibility when we have these procedures, which for many of us are completely elective.

@iggy - im sorry that i dont know your experience but question - are you still having bad complications? How much weight have you lost? What were your complications? What was your starting weight/bmi? This is not a setup for an attack i just had a couple of curious questions since i dont know your story

I know that there was a leak in the staple line. I am just wondering if maybe there was a health condition that might have made the complications worse, added to it, or kept her from healing like she should have. I am not blaming the victim either, and if she has some health problem that could have worsen it, that would also be out of her control! (and I'm not imply that you suggested I did). I'm just curious. .

It was a staple that didn't hold. Not a preexisting condition. Now a lot of people will play "blame the victim" and say .. "ahhh she must have gone off her diet and eaten something she wasn't supposed to" but that's not necessarily so. These things happen. Leaks happen.. even with perfect surgeons and perfect patients leaks can happen. It's a scary thought so it's easier to try to assess blame.

NOW, where I will agree that this sounds like malpractice is that she went to the doctor's office with symptoms of a leak (the post says she went to both her GP AND the surgeon) and she was NOT TESTED FOR A LEAK.. OK, so maybe her GP can have a pass on that, but the SURGEON should have been more thorough and if he had, this poor woman may not have had to endure so much.

While I don't agree with the OP's stance that nobody should have this surgery and this is a "bad surgery" and diet and exercise are the only option. I do see this as a cautionary tale. If something doesn't feel right, advocate for yourself.. FIGHT to be tested in any way that you feel necessary and don't delay and worry about being a "bother" to your surgeon or to the hospital.

@iggy - im sorry that i dont know your experience but question - are you still having bad complications? How much weight have you lost? What were your complications? What was your starting weight/bmi? This is not a setup for an attack i just had a couple of curious questions since i dont know your story

I'l give you the short version Starting BMI of barely 35. No comorbidities, no complicating factors (I'd had anesthesia and knew it wasn't an issue, just an allergy to morphine which of course isn't rare). High pain tolerance, healthy for a fat chick No family history to worry about, The anesthesiologist and doc were joking about a tennis date the week after surgery with me. I was supposed to be their poster child for an easy recovery and weight loss Didn't turn out that way.

Massive bleed during surgery, they didn't transfer me to a hospital though, kept me at the surgery center all night and the next day (I don't know how long, over 24 hours is all I know) where I experienced constant seizures due to blood loss and the mass of blood in my gut. Likely that either masked the leak or caused it but who knows. Finally taken to a hospital and left two days later only to return off and on, much as you read about this case, while the docs blamed it on the blood and didn't feel a leak test was necessary. I had ALL the symptoms, but no one would do the test. So finally my plural sac was crushing my lungs due to the Fluid build up from the infection due to the leak...that no one would detect, and my lungs became the focus not the leak because they couldn't keep them drained. Multiple procedures to drain the lungs finally allowed for discovery of the leak, which was then so far gone (damaged tissue) that they couldn't repair with traditional methods. In the mean time the PICC caused blood clots, the drains caused issues with my lungs....you are a nurse, you probably know how it all snowballs

Aprox five weeks after my first surgery I had my second to install an experimental treatment called a claw. It has a high failure rate, but when your tissue is badly damaged it's the best option so they installed that. I was lucky and it held. But I faced the loss of my stomach if it didn't because once that tissue is damaged, it's tough to put it back together.

I was bedridden about 60 days. In hospital three weeks or so, give or take. Several ER visits, half a million bucks ya da ya da. So this story does not sound far fetched to me. Had I stayed with my original doc and local hospital I might have been in the same boat. They tried to send me home too.

It's hard to be an advocate when you are near death. Even a nurse must understand that there are times when a patient just can't be their best advocate (not speaking of you but of the other nursing commenting). You have to see folks who are normally rational human beings who get so beat down they just can't think or communicate their needs don't you? It's easy to say you'd be tough...but only if you haven't been there.

I have lost weight But it wasn't worth the risk and what it did to my family. This story sounds believable because I lived it to some degree. I feel bad this person was so beat up they never came back to post again. They might have seen that there is some good to this surgery if they hadn't been so beaten up. Do I recommend it? NOt often! But I can see where it makes sense.

I don't know if this is a true story or not, but I do know that my Dr. has warned me of some of these issues I do believe that although some of these risks may happen I believe most of the Sisters issues were malpractice.

I read story after story about people who do get complications and have ALOT of trouble getting a proper diagnosis until the patient gets into REAL trouble and it becomes life threatening. Why is this so? I would think if there is even a remote chance of having a patient experience complications, you would go above and beyond to make sure the problem is diagnosed properly and that a suitable plan of action is quickly in place.

Just today I am reading about people who can only tolerate 10-20 oz of fluids and nutrition and they are so weak, but the doctor keeps sending them home. I am just bewildered that a doctor would do such a thing.

To the OP - sorry to hear about what happened to your sister. It is a horrific experience as you described it. I hope that at some time she recovers - even if that is hoping for a miracle. Of course you feel the way you do...you nearly lost someone you love dearly!!!

I'l give you the short version <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Starting BMI of barely 35. No comorbidities' date=' no complicating factors (I'd had anesthesia and knew it wasn't an issue, just an allergy to morphine which of course isn't rare). High pain tolerance, healthy for a fat chick <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> No family history to worry about, The anesthesiologist and doc were joking about a tennis date the week after surgery with me. I was supposed to be their poster child for an easy recovery and weight loss <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> Didn't turn out that way.

Massive bleed during surgery, they didn't transfer me to a hospital though, kept me at the surgery center all night and the next day (I don't know how long, over 24 hours is all I know) where I experienced constant seizures due to blood loss and the mass of blood in my gut. Likely that either masked the leak or caused it but who knows. Finally taken to a hospital and left two days later only to return off and on, much as you read about this case, while the docs blamed it on the blood and didn't feel a leak test was necessary. I had ALL the symptoms, but no one would do the test. So finally my plural sac was crushing my lungs due to the Fluid build up from the infection due to the leak...that no one would detect, and my lungs became the focus not the leak because they couldn't keep them drained. Multiple procedures to drain the lungs finally allowed for discovery of the leak, which was then so far gone (damaged tissue) that they couldn't repair with traditional methods. In the mean time the PICC caused blood clots, the drains caused issues with my lungs....you are a nurse, you probably know how it all snowballs <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Aprox five weeks after my first surgery I had my second to install an experimental treatment called a claw. It has a high failure rate, but when your tissue is badly damaged it's the best option so they installed that. I was lucky and it held. But I faced the loss of my stomach if it didn't because once that tissue is damaged, it's tough to put it back together.

I was bedridden about 60 days. In hospital three weeks or so, give or take. Several ER visits, half a million bucks ya da ya da. So this story does not sound far fetched to me. Had I stayed with my original doc and local hospital I might have been in the same boat. They tried to send me home too.

It's hard to be an advocate when you are near death. Even a nurse must understand that there are times when a patient just can't be their best advocate (not speaking of you but of the other nursing commenting). You have to see folks who are normally rational human beings who get so beat down they just can't think or communicate their needs don't you? It's easy to say you'd be tough...but only if you haven't been there.

I have lost weight But it wasn't worth the risk and what it did to my family. This story sounds believable because I lived it to some degree. I feel bad this person was so beat up they never came back to post again. They might have seen that there is some good to this surgery if they hadn't been so beaten up. Do I recommend it? NOt often! But I can see where it makes sense.

[/quote']

Very sorry to hear about your exp.

I would like to correct one thing though the person who wrote the story never logged in so how would they know what's being discussed here ?????????? They logged in only once to make this post at 11.07 am and that was it..... Again I am sorry to hear about your exp but every one have a right to have their own thoughts and conclusions just like you do...

Sent from my iPhone 5 using VST

since the original post time the OP has had nothing to say or respond with. I don't believe the OP is looking for any sort of sympathy' date=' and she isn't getting any from me. I agree what is the point of your ONE post? This does lead one to believe in the validity of what is posted and could have been done in a malicious way. VSG is a life saving procedure........enough said.[/quote']

I cannot deny that thought crossed my mind. 1st time poster drops a bomb and then never comes back...?

That said, if its true then I am so very sad for her sister and her family.

If it isn't true... Idk what's worse? A sad horror story or a lie about a sad horror story...

Amanda Rae

Sorry to hear vwhat happened to your sis! what an awful story ! To each to their own opinion though . My sister had Lap Band surgery and 2 years later is still 100 pounds thinner ' date=' her diabetes , blood pressure and every other health issue she had is no longer there. I was sleeved 12 days ago and i wouldnt change it for the world! Already down 17 pounds and counting.Nothing but a great experience for me . My sleep apnea is getting way better and feel alive again with so much energy! People can experience leaks but its risk that everyone knows before getting the surgery done.And it is a very low percentage of people. Im sure if your sisters Dr. would of caught the leak in time it wouldnt have gotten as bad. Im all for the surgery!!! I Encourage everyone and their Mothers to get it ! And anyways this is supposed to be an encouragement forum for people that are interested in getting the surgery not a scare tactic website!![/quote']

I'm looking forward to breaking up with my CPAP.

Amanda Rae

Is WLS good for everyone? I guess not BUT the majority are successful. If you are reading this thread and are considering it, DON'T let this person or iggy scare the (bleep) out of you! DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE and get busy saving your own life!

Tomorrow I will be 4 weeks post op. Here are my stats: I am a 35 year old male, 6' 3" tall. On 11/23/12 I was 445 lbs. I started my pre op all liquid diet that day and lost 49 lbs in 28 days before I had surgery. 12/21/12 I was 396 and had surgery. 1/17/13, and I am 1 day shy of being 4 weeks post op and I have lost 24 additional lbs for a total of 73 lbs in 56 days.

In summary.....

11/23/2012- 445 lbs. BMI= 55 (Taking Metformin for pre diabetes and Lisinopril for borderline high blood pressure.)

1/17/2013- 372 lbs BMI= 46 (NO MORE LISINOPRIL, BUT still taking Metformin.....FOR NOW.......)

The bottom line.....I feel freakin AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I can do SO much more then I could do just 2 short months ago! EVERY DAY is a new adventure of something new I can do, see, less pain, etc. I can eat ANYTHING! (I am making ALL healthy choices.) I have had NO complications. NONE. EVERYONE that sees me is saying "WOW, are you losing weight?" My response.....Why yes I am!

Bottom line........don't waste anymore good years/months of your life. My doctor told me I wasn't going to live very long pre surgery. Now I have a new lease on life. JUST DO IT!

When people start out with an I'm sorry BUT just to be clear...they really aren't sorry. Don't say it if you don't mean it please? It comes off rather badly.

Well, I was sorry for the problems you had but now that you have clarified the 11th commandment for me then I guess I am not sorry. You seem to know me better than I know myself.

But I will say, to anyone who has had complications, I deeply sympathize with you.

I have not had gastric sleeve, but my sister has and this is her horror story. In the month after her May surgery, by Dr. Chua of Aurora Sinai in Milwaukee, my sister (Jane) came down with flu like symptoms. Although she contacted her primary physician, who was aware of the recent surgery, and I believe she had an office visit with Dr. Chua, nobody showed any concern about infection. This is despite the fact that EVERYBODY knows that infection mimics flu like symptoms and it was nowhere near flu season. Nobody ever did any scans post surgery to determine of there was any issue with the healing of the internal surgery area - even though I have since learned that other patients had experienced similar issues to what my sister was about to go through.

It turned out (after three ER visits in three days, despite the fact that I said I was worried about infection from the very first visit) that a staple hadn't held and that food/fluid had been leaking into her abdomen from the stomach causing a MASSIVE infection. By the time Aurora Lakeland in Elkhorn paid any attention to this she was almost dead. She barely made it through and it was literally touch and go for WEEKS!! AND that hospital wouldn't even treat her because they don't do bariatric surgeries - she had to be airlifted to Milwaukee.

What followed were numerous surgeries, months in ICU and then regular hospital (from July 4th weekend into October), an induced coma with her hands strapped to the bed so she wouldn't inadvertantly pull out tubes and wires, being intubated for breathing assistance, additional infections, memory loss of that entire time, and leaving on a feeding tube. She has been on that feeding tube for over two years now.

Oh she's thin alright. woohoo. But she gets her food from a bag hanging on an iv rack and has to grind her meds and flush them through the feeding tube line, as well as a drain that collects Fluid from her abdomen and open wounds that need daily care. She has NO muscles left. She probably couldn't walk a block if she was allowed to.

She came home from that hospital stay with a GIANT open wound the length of her abdomen - I mean it was big enough for me to stick both my hands into - and a wound vac installed in it to constantly vacuum up the fluid and goop that goes along with healing. That fluid drained into a plastic container that hung from tube(s) coming out of her abdomen - which she had to have with her always. It was all very painful and really gross.

That was just the first hospitalization. By January she was back in the hospital with another massive infection that had burned through her diaphragm and into her lungs. This time she spent her time in pulmonary ICU. You see they told her to start trying to eat - that they thought the holes in her stomach had closed, but they didn't do regular scans to verify this....again! They were wrong. Again.

Only this time her primary physician, Dr. Rosol of Aurora Lake Geneva, had diagnosed her with pneumonia over the phone and had given her a prescription not even strong enough to deal with pneumonia. So when she didn't get better, by the time the Aurora ER took her seriously she was again near death. This time they had to do lung surgery AND abdominal surgery to clear out and treat the raging infection caused by fluid and matter leaking from the stomach into everywhere.

So apparently this type of thing isn't that uncommon with this surgery, nor are the "fistulas" that develop as a result of this complication from this type of surgery. If the tissue around this fistula isn't so damaged that it can heal on its own it could take years. If it's damaged - as hers was from all that infection - there is no sewing it closed and it doesn't heal on its own. Imagine being on a feeding tube for the rest of your life - never tasting food, never enjoying a meal or a drink or a dessert or a holiday with your family again. Never a chocolate bar, or a bowl of Cereal, or a salad, or a glass of juice. NOTHING. All because someone convinced you that gastric sleeve surgery was the answer.

So if you are considering this surgery, don't. It's just not worth the risk. I know, if my sister could go back, she would choose fat over this lack of a life any day of the week. I grew up thin and am now fat and I would NEVER EVER EVER have a surgery to reduce my weight. Although I haven't been able to be disciplined enough to do it I know the only solution is eat less, move more. Two steps. The only solution.

I thank GOD every day for my family dr.... He is the one that suggested the surgery to me. I couldn't "move" as you suggest! I had injured both knees & made it impossible to exercise. And, like you I wasn't "disciplined" enough to eat less! My dr. told me to have the surgery, lose the weight, then work on the knees! I am SO glad I listened to him! I did my homework on this before I had it done! Sorry to hear that anyone has to go through complications, but we all know the risks of ANY surgery. They tell you ALL the time (at least my surgeon did)...