I have been showing my family and friends the information on this surgery....which kind of makes me mad because my surgery is tomorrow and just now they want to know about it...I digress.  But I told them I did find some with major complications and have only heard of 2 deaths, but the vast majority seem to do very well after surgery.  Would you say this is accurate?

I would say that is accurate.

I did have a complication after my surgery, but it was a reaction to a blood-thinner the hospital gave me and wasn't caused by the VSG itself.

Thanks!! I'm sorry about your complication, were you allergic??

No allergy that I'm aware of. We don't know why it happened; it's not common. But you can bet I'll be telling the back surgeon about it so he doesn't give me any Lovenox when I have my back surgery next week!

I was nauseated and dry heaved for two days after surgery, but I don't consider that a complication, just unfortunate.  I'd totally do it again!

Best wishes on your surgery and recovery!!

Thanks ladies!!! I'm nervous as &*%$#@% but not letting that hold me back.  Will be joining you on the loser's bench tomorrow!!

I was perfectly fine up until the night before my surgery.  I went nuts for about 20 minutes while driving back to my hotel.  You'll do fine.  Congrats on it being your turn!

 Good luck and speedy recovery! My family also wasn't on board until the last minute - and my father didn't even speak to me before I left to go to the hospital. Yeah...I felt special. You just have to know that some of them are probably scared for you to have this "elective" surgery and don't really know how to react. Some may just not be able to communicate their feelings effectively. You just have to go ahead and do what you need to do. They will get on board or they won't - you can't let it affect your health :) I have tried to give my folks info on this surgery countless times in the last year and they say they are too busy to read about it. So I just gave up. 

On another note, I have not really had any complications beyond what amounts to a badly pulled abdominal muscle after surgery. It is getting better and I'm about 2 weeks out of surgery. I haven't had trouble eating, but am getting sick of protein shakes :) 

I just want you to know that you are very brave for taking this step toward bettering your health. It really takes a lot of guts! I was nervous too, but once you get there and get the happy drugs it will be over before you know it and you will be starting your new life! Good luck for tomorrow!!

~Micah

A lot of the complications will be surgery related and not VSG related. Those are the ones that you will find with any surgery. You do have, obviously, a set of complications that are specific to VSG but with more and more surgeons becoming more experienced, you see less and less of them. While not a guarentee, if you have an experienced knowledgable surgeon, it goes a long way to avoiding complications.

Fortunatly, the VSG related complications generally are no worse than any general surgery related one as long as they are caught and treated aggressivly. If you suspect anything, get it checked. Safe is always better than sorry. For the general surgery related complications, follow the norm and you should be ok. Blood clots are a risk but can be avoided with blood thinners and by basically not staying still longer than you have to be. Get your blood moving. Be mindful of alleries, that type of thing.

Overall, surgery in general is safe today. VSG is generally safe, especially when there are as few additional risk factors as possible.

ditto Jason...


the major complications (5Ws: wind (pneumo), walking (DVT, PE), water (UTI), wounds (infection at incision site), weird drugs (induced fever)) are typically related to surgery in general, not necessarily VSG. but some things to consider:

-COE accredititation denotes competence on part of the healthcare team and the capacity to the facility to handle such "unique" surgeries and individuals (read: board cert. gen surgery, fellowship in bariatrics...facilty has beds/equipment/resources to accomodate SMO persons). Have that, and you are halfway home.

- to counter deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and clotting issues you will be given several units (~5) of heparin (blood thinner) and be made to wear compression boots while in bed. however, after post-op evening 1 it is crucial that you get up and walk! yes, you will be tired/sore/groggy but the movement will help circulation (and, God forbid, better detect a clot...rather find out in the wards than at home) and also help tin the movement of gas....(to check suture line the new stomach will be inflated; the gas is a pain in the a$$ and you will not be given any medication to counter it (cannot disturb new tummy))

- you will be given a triflow spirometer. Use it every hour. It will help your healthcare team gauge your respiratory function post-op. Remember you've been under GA for a couple of hours and may have accumulations in lungs.

- you'll get Qball or Morphine drip for pain. DO NOT SUFFER IN SILENCE! Ask for it/say yes when offered! I was in pain when I first came to...morphine drip was a godsend.

-finally, vital signs are checked hourly, and fluids are given IV to prevent dehydration until you can start sipping......

.....LONG STORY short
yes there are complications but these are related to all surgeries
your healthcare team is fully prepared to handle these complications should they arise
VSG has a lower complication rate than most WLS
Freakouts are normal
Glad your family is getting on board, but its really about YOU!!! VSG for the most part is a solo sport. Its nice to have folks in your corner, but at the end of the day your success lies with you alone!!!
:) im praying for you! YOU WILL BE FINE!  We're saving room for you! Check in when you are able to after! 

Thanks Jason and Ocham!! Great points!!

I didn't get morphine after leaving the recovery room outside of the OR.....though the pain was minimal and completely controlled with loritab liquid....

They did give me an ambien to sleep through the night....I slept 30 minutes....I think the nurses were getting tired of me.....I was far too active for just having surgery....but then again, I hate hospitals so I was doing all I could to stay out of my room....

That's why I chose the surgery. It seemed that it was just a successful, but with much fewer complications.

Good luck and God bless you . Best decision I've ever made for myself !!

Good luck tomorrow.  Let us know how you're doing when you feel up to it.

I've been reading on this site for about 18 months, and have seen very few real complications of the surgery. Some of the complications are from surgery in general, not necessarily from the VSG.  

As long as you selected a surgeon with plenty of experience and low a complication rate, you should be in good hands.  The surgeons skill is part of the situation, how you treat your body after is surgery is the other part.  Be very careful about what you put into your new stomach after surgery.  Liquids in small sips initially.  

I had complications... my board certified surgeon of excellence, extremely qualified, head of his department, very well respected essentially put me back together with too much of a curve in the remaining stomach and it "kinked"... I was dreadfully sick within a few hours of surgery... non stop dry heaves, and the swallow test showed the obstruction the next morning... they had me back in surgery in less than 24 hours... within 3 hours of discovering the problem... and I was a sick puppy for a few days (double anesthesia and all) and was in the hospital for 5 nights.

As far as complications go, I'll take it!  I still could have gone back to work at 2 weeks out if I had to (I am a teacher and I did it in July, so I had plenty of time)... almost no pain, and great results.  I feel amazing...

I would do it again in a heart beat.  And my complication is so rare it doesn't even make the list of complications... :)

Other complications (of a post surgical nature) for me have been a WILD horrible crazy period within days of surgery (combo of my PCOS and the 5 days of blood thinners in the hospital they think...) so bad it made me anemic in 5 days... (THAT was the worst part of my recovery... it was to the point where there had to be medical intervention to make it stop) and I have had a LOT of hair loss (see my profile pics...)

Still wouldn't change a thing :-)

I'm sure you'll have great results as well!!!  Try to sleep tonight my dear!

Thanks for the encouraging words you guys!!! Love all the support I can get at this site.  I've encouraged my family to read it so they can see that I did in fact do my research!!!

There's a few of us that have had leaks...Some worse than other, but, all have survived that I know of!!!...Hey, what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, is the old saying!

Best wishes through it all!!

Hugs

Donna

 Here's the simple version:

1) Most complications occur while still under observation in the hospital

2) Since you're having most of your stomach removed, a complication never means being doomed to regain, like with the band.

3) Most complications are eventually resolved within a month or two

It's not to say they don't happen, but the VSG is dead simple. There's no moving parts or rerouting of organs. It's a stomach reduction plain and simple.

I know that a few people do have leaks I never did. The VSG is the safes WLS there is. And its funny I get asked this alot because I went to mexico to have surgery. But the only complication i had if you can call it a complication is I had the worst gas right after surgery and my hair fell out but its all back now . it took about 6weeks to get all the gas out. But VSG works .

Good Luck
Vinny Mac