Having my surgery on may 20th. On the Friday follow up how does the doctor check for leaks in the sleeve?

My surgeon checks while you are still out on the table with a scope. Then, with an upper GI the next morning (where you drink this weird liquid).

He puts you to sleep again for the GI?

No you are awake. You stand in front of an X-ray machine and drink barium.

mine was checked once right after the surgery while I was still out. No leaks.

Me too. Mine was checked right after surgery. I was still out.

The morning after surgery I did an xray where you drink barium and they watch it pass through on the xray. When that was clear they gave me ice with blue food coloring in it. They checked the drain to make sure there was no blue in the drain.

Thanks for calming some nerves! I'm glad but oh so chicken!

You are certainly not a chicken! It's a big surgery and there are risks. Great topic! I am two weeks out and still worry about potential complications. I have been very blessed and doing well to this point. My doc was the same it sounds as most. It was checked while in surgery and again the next morning with the upper GI. I had a drain as well for a week so any changes in output could be an alert to a leak. Good luck to you:)

This is something that I've wondered about too. Thanks for asking. Does anyone know what would cause a leak to occur?

@@NoMoreWeightNJ that would be a great question for your surgeon!! I have NO idea.

They did my first check during surgery and another leak the next day. The second one I stood in front of an xray machine and drank barium and got to watch it go through and even showed me my new tiny stomach. The barium tastes bad but it's just a small amount. You will feel relieved to see for yourself that there is no leak. Good luck on your journey. I am 6 days post op myself.

I was checked after surgery while I was still out. No barium for me.

I was also checked after surgery while still out.

I think what could cause a leak is the surgeon misses an area with the staples or the stitches.

That barium stuff taste so gross. I remember I was so cold and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. I barely had any energy for the leak test. Within 2 days of surgery I was flying home full of energy.