Twisted sleeve (corkscrew)

Hello,

I have been having so many problems since my VSG on 9-28-15. I cannot eat without pain or nausea/vomiting.  I have had so many trips to the ER and a lot of imaging done as well as an upper endoscopy. I had to drop my surgeon because of lack of care and am waiting to see a new bariatric surgeon in a week. My upper endoscopy was performed by a General Surgeon after my last ER visit. He found that my stomach had twisted into the shape of a "corkscrew" and he believes that is the reason for my pain. I cannot eat or drink anything too thick. I have been living off water and milk for months. I try to eat and my stomach swells to the point that I look pregnant. I cannot find a lot of information on the Internet and am hoping someone here can help me. I am beyond frustrated and depressed with my experience. the general surgeon suggested that the only way he can think of to fix my problem is a full gastric bypass. I really hope that isn't the case. I do not want anymore complications. 

Has anyone experienced this before?

thank you

I have heard of this before. I read of one case where the stomach was still in good shape and it was untwisted and then tacked to the abdominal wall. Some years ago someone on this board had a very similar problem and had to revise to an RNY. I think it will all depend on the condition of your sleeve what is done in the end. 

I hope you get the outcome you're hoping for. You deserve that after all you've been through. 

I'm sorry that you are going through this. My aunt is going through something similar and they said that they will have to go in and do the bypass on her. Hers came about bc she started eating like she did before right after getting out the hospital. 

I'm sorry your aunt had to go through this as well. 

I'm sorry that you are having to go through this, and that your surgeon was not responsive to your needs.

In resolving these types of issues, I have found it helpful to seek out a surgeon who is experienced with the DS (duodenal switch), not that you necessarily want to change or revise to that, but that they tend to be the most experienced with the sleeve (as the DS uses the sleeve as its basis,) and are most likely to be able to repair a damaged or poorly formed sleeve. The "typical" or average bariatric surgeon is most experienced doing bypasses, as that along with the bands has been the default WLS for the past couple of decades. When faced with a complication or difficulty, their natural tendency is to revert to their own comfort zone and revise to a bypass rather than fix the fundamental problem. The DS docs, having more sleeve experience overall, tend to be more comfortable at correcting a faulty sleeve rather than replacing it. On the other hand, if one of the DS guys suggests that a bypass revision is the way to go, that gives good confidence that things are serious enough for that to be the right call for you, and not just what is most convenient for the surgeon.

http://www.dsfacts.com/duodenal-switch-surgeons.php   is a very incomplete list of DS surgeons, hopefully one close to you. You can also check out the DS forum here on OH to see if anyone there can suggest a surgeon in your area.

Good luck, and I hope this gets resolved soon,

Thank you very much for the information. I will look for a surgeon with A strong DS background.

The new surgeon was able to get me in last week and wants to try stenting first. I was disappointed with this doctor as well. He only spent 5 mins with me and sent me won my way. Maybe I'm asking too much from surgeons. I had a list of questions that I didn't even get to ask. My main question is Why? Why did this happen? Is it something my original surgeon did wrong? I don't remember "twisting" being one of the "possible complications". I know surgeons like to cover each other's backs so I'm worried I will never find out.