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One port, two ports, three ports, four....
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DeLarla 10 posts
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I just lost my new port. Dr. Billy took it from me. This just in: IF YOU HAVE A LEAKING, WEEPING WOUND THAT WON'T CLOSE, THIS IS A BAD THING.
The surgery I had two weeks ago in Mexico has been undone. The "mystery fluid" that has been oozing out of me for 8 months was infected (this time cultures were done.) It wasn't rejection, it was infection. It baffles me that not one of the other docs I've seen since May were interested enough to do a culture. Disturbing. No matter how deep they clean an infected wound, some bacteria will stay behind. When Lopez passed the brand new port through the old wound, the new port became surrounded by infectious bacteria. Also, even though my port was placed away from the incision, he left part of the long tube laying across the infected area under the surface of the incision. Dr. Billy has identical cases, and a wound simply will not close when the tube has bacteria and is so close to the surface. Maybe I'm not explaining this exactly, but gimme a break cuz drugs have me, well, drugged.
With the last surgery, Dr. Lopez said an endoscopy wasn't necessary at that moment, but he would watch my progress and do one down the road, either in a couple weeks or later depending on how I was doing. Let this be a lesson to all of us that we have to be aggressive in our own care because I'm sure if I tried harder, Lopez would have done the scope for me. The reason the scope was so important is that Dr. Billy found the beginnings of an ulcer in my stomach, and we have all heard that ulcers can lead to erosion. So, if I kept waiting for time to pass, the ulcer could have gotten much bigger. Billy was fab, I mean it. He reinforced the importance of not taking NSAIDs, which can cause ulcers, and he prescribed 6 months of Pepcid to hopefully cure the ulcer-looking-thing. It's not a true ulcer yet, but it's the beginning, and only the Angels know how long before it became a monster.
Penni is just now telling me that Billy also found some plastic sutures that were left inside me, but he didn't know why they were still in there. Yes, Billy is all they say he is and much much more. He spent all morning with me, sitting by my side with Penni answering so many questions and counseling us both on getting back to Band basics... he even gave us homework that we are not looking forward to doing. However, he is right, that if we want our Bands to work, we have to work our Bands.
To top it off, he threw in a laparoscopy (sp?) which meant he opened 2 of my old incisions plus made a tiny new one in my belly button to look inside my stomach with a camera. He covered me from all angles, and I made a complete ass out of myself upon awakening in the recovery room. According to Dr. Billy, I was hugging everyone in the room and I begged for asthma medicine, even though I'm not asthmatic. He had me and Penni in absolute stitches. Kind, caring, knowledgeable, experienced, and not too hard on the eyes, ahem!
As far as Lopez goes, even Billy agrees he's an excellent surgeon. However, Mexico doesn't carry the same accountabily that US doctors are forced to face due to litigation proceedings. I still have a lot of respect for Lopez because he did what doctors do... he "practiced" medicine, and since there is no exact science, he followed his standards of practice.
If you don't read anything else, please read this. I have an entire new outlook on getting surgery in Mexico. If you do not have a doctor lined up for aftercare, do NOT get a band in Mexico. Get your ducks in a row first. Don't rely on what people tell you, but instead call and speak directly to a local Band surgeon to ensure you are taken well care of throughout your entire journey. Peace.