How long after the surgery can you get a leak?

RobinRN44
on 8/27/10 10:12 pm - Becker, MN
VSG on 10/18/10 with
I'm just curious how long after the surgery that you can get a leak.  There must be a point where the sleeve is healed and anything you eat won't affect it.  Anyone?
Valsdetermined2lose
on 8/27/10 10:20 pm
Sorry but im not sure, even though that's very scary to think of.
 HW-267-SW-253-CW-167 I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!!
      
      
        

coco135
on 8/27/10 11:12 pm
My doctor told me that days and even weeks out leaks are possible but as time goes on and your new stomach scars over your staple lines your stomach is sealed off and you will not get leaks.  He told me if I didn't get one in a months time that I would not get a leak.  coco135
    
Alex74
on 8/27/10 11:16 pm - Chandler, AZ
My surgeon said he had someone with a leak one month out. He's not sure how it happened, but no surgery was needed to fix. Seems it very rare that far out.
justrite
on 8/28/10 2:07 am - Sacramento, CA
i read recently it was up to 6 weeks!
Ms Shell
on 8/28/10 2:15 am - Hawthorne, CA
The research that I have done and sorry I can't find the link (this was research on partial and full gastrectomies for ulcers and cancer not just the VSG).  It takes up to 3 months for the scar tissues to fully grow over the staple line and basically seal it.

A leak can develop during that time so I made sure not to eat anything like seeds and strawberries and kiwis and popcorn as to me those things can get lodged in the staple line.

I have seen someone as far as 3 months out whose leak was found, now it could have developed before that, but from what I remember the body developed like a pocket where the leakage was being stored so it wasn't leaking directly into the body cavaity.

Ms Shell

"WLS is only for people who are ready to move past the "diet" mentality" ~Alison Brown
"WLS is not a Do-Over (repeat same mistakes = get a similar outcome.)  It is a Do-BETTER (make lifestyle changes you can continue forever.)" ~ Michele Vicara aka Eggface

barakuda
on 8/28/10 3:41 am

My surgeon said two weeks.....he said two weeks is the critical stage, if you were to develop a leak it will happen within that period. he said leaks happens at the end of the staple line, when wounds are healing they tend to open up a little at the ends....that's why the blood works after two weeks is important.

At my two weeks appointment with him he said i'm pretty much safe now just follow the eating plan. and when i ask him "how long does the staple line completely heals" he said it's pretty much healed now.....i was like wow!
sandysellers
on 8/28/10 4:09 am
My surgeon told me that there is a risk of leak up to 3 months.  The risk drops as you heal, but the scar tissue has to have a chance to form....

-Sandy

My worth is not measured by what I have gathered, but by what I have scattered.

    

Qured
on 8/28/10 5:26 am - Athens, Greece
Mine said (just talked to him) that he's never seen any leak after day 14. And that the ones making their appearance about a month out pre-existed and were ignored by the patients (no significant pain/discomfort, and a sliightly elevated temperature throughout the month).
Kat

5'6''

"We must become our truth (ourselves) first, before we can move from it (change)"
   
   
      
RobinRN44
on 8/28/10 5:29 am - Becker, MN
VSG on 10/18/10 with
Thanks everyone. That makes me feel a little better.
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