Bad Hernea Surgery

Hi, I will be 7 years post RNY in November. I have had my nutritional levels tested every year and they have been good and I have maintained a 145 pound weight loss. The end of February of this year I went in for a small bowl hernia repair.  The surgeon removed some bowel and when he went to suture my bowel back together it started leaking.  I ended up having 6 surgeries within a 3 week period and spent 4 months in the hospital. The surgeon thinks my bowels kept leaking because of malnutrition from my RNY.  I thought I was doing well with my nutritional levels. Has anyone had anything similar happen or heard of this happening with RNY?

Thanks, Rebecca

Very detailed blood work is important to determine what really is going on.  

If you have not already done so (although I would expect that surgeon concerned about your nutrition level would already have done it), you need to get a FULL set of labs.  You cannot just think your nutritional levels are good... You need to know!  

There are definitely nutritional deficiencies that could contribute to lack of proper healing after surgery, but if the surgeon is saying that the bowel starting leaking WHILE he was suturing, that isn't a healing issue. It sounds more like he is saying that the wall of your bowel is somehow defective such that it couldn't be sutured properly.  I'm not a doctor and don't know whether that is possible or not (I have never heard of it), but I would definitely be questioning the competence of the surgeon and would be getting a copy of ALL of the operative reports immediately.

Lora

It sounds like your bowels kept leaking because he is incompetent and poor suturing techniques.  I would think, and I am no doctor but you should have been put on a colostomy bag so you could heal properly. 

I see you are in the military in Germany..  There are other doctors.  Please go get a second opinion and have a new doctor order labs. 

I know you are stressed and worried...this can be fixed.