revision or reversal?

I am four years out and am having some issues with my surgery.  I cannot keep food or liquids down.  Four weeks ago was my last meal (sushi!) and I have ben living off saltines and the occasional cup of soup.  Food/liquids hurt.  As soon as they hit my stomach it causes it pain, then I usually throw it back up, or it makes me feel so sick that I have to force it to come back up.  Anyways, after an endoscopy, a cat scan, a barium swallow and a series of xrays, the dr's say that there is nothing "mechanically" wrong with me, so they are thinking that maybe they should reverse the surgery, or maybe make my pouch smaller, even though I was just told that its pretty small to begin with.  Has anyone been through a revesal and can you tell me what it entails?  Or a revision?  I am kind of afraid to do research.  I don't meet with my dr again until next Friday and I was thinking I should go with a list of questions to ask. (then get a second opinion??)  Any hel would be greatly appreciated.  I am confused as to which direction would be better suited for me and I feel so alone.  Thanks for your time reading this! Dawn

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble.  I have no idea what you should do, but I think I would seek a second opinion before going ahead with either a revision or a reversal.  I think they are just both serious steps and I would want input from a second surgeon before I made up my mind.

I second Kelly's advice and get a second opinion. My wife has problems for two years with her gallbladder before the doc's figured it out. I had problems for 10 years, several doctors, several test with each one telling me there was no problem. When I had an accident two years ago, new doc's operated and found it necrotic and removed it.

I agree with the others that you need a second opinion before you do ANYTHING.  Unfortunately, no one here is qualified to give you advice on which option would be better for you.

I cannot see how a revision making your pouch smaller will address your problem.  If anything, I would expect it to make it worse... so I would ask the surgeon to explain exactly HOW doing that will help solve the problem (since it sounds like they have no idea what the problem is).

A reversal is a very complex procedure and not many surgeons are qualified to do one.  I would definitely ask the surgeon how many he has done before allowing him to do it.  They basically need to reattach your remnant stomach and un-do the intestinal bypass.  The rate of complications is reportedly higher for reversals than for the initial surgery, and -- of course -- you may gain weight after a reversal.

Lora

Was your original surgery done in WA state?

You might ask them to check for a small bowel obstruction, or a partial one, where the food goes down a bit, but stops, then your body tries to eject it.

Also, if your surgery was done as I think, this doc made especially small stomas.

If someone is going to poke around, and this JUST went wrong, then it is a flaw in your gut (no blame or fault - just your intestines squiggling around) and they can often correct the problem with minimal fuss.

The problem is in getting the diagnosis. Barium FOOD, not liquid is often helpful in finding where things are hanging up. If it's not your actual pouch, it might be just a few inches down. A simple "bend" can be the problem right up to an adhesion grabbing the bowel and pulling it out of whack.