Complication 5 yrs out

Please take the time to educate yourself on the possibility of LONG TERM complications of the surgery.  I am 5 years Post Op with no complications and 130lb weight loss... I am a success!! 

Petersons Hernia happens to 1% of the people and it's serious.  It's a twisted bowel, I ALMOST DIED RECENTLY!!!  I live a couple hours away from the hospital that did my RNY so I just went to my local emerg with pains in my stomach.  I was sent home and told to take X-lax because i was probably constipated.  Ultrasound showed "free fluid" in my abdomen, and the X-Ray showed my lower bowel was empty and my upper bowel had some poop.   I told the NP that I was taking laxitives for almost a week and only had two little nuggets pass.   So I went home, took X-lax, MOM, and even went and bought that stuff that you drink to clean your bowels before a colonoscopy and still barely went.

I went back to Emerg on Sunday and decided that if i was sent home i would have to drive to another hospital in a bigger city where i had my surgery originally.  Well i went in and ended up having a CT Scan.  I was on the operating within half an hour after the doctor read the report.  My bowel was on the verge of exploding.  

Doctors aren't familiar with this surgery everywhere so when the pain presented itself under my breast bone I guess on Friday the Nurse Practitioner didn't think it could be a twisted bowel... Please do your research. This WILL happen to some of you so know the symptoms and signs to save your own life.  The pain is unlike anything you've ever felt.. I made the comment that it was worse than being in labour and I stand by that.  So don't be petrified every time you get pains in your stomach.  My symptoms:

Extreme pain right under my breast bone

Back pain

Gas and gurgling in my stomach without passing gas.

Eating hurt

Stomach was bloated - severely not like normal menstral bloating for women

Nausea

Diarhea

Sharp stabbing pains that came and went for 3 days prior to going to emerg for the first time.  All of my blood tests came back normal, both visits to the ER.

Please Please do your reseach for long term complications.  There is a ton of information on this forum and as I checked through I could check off what happened to me and if I had of known about the possibility of the stomach and bowel twisting up near the pouch I would have demanded the CT scan on Friday and to the Nurse's defense she probably didn't think it could be a twisted bowel that high up either.  MY STOMACH AND BOWEL TWISTED.... THINK ABOUT THAT..... DO YOUR RESEARCH... SAVE YOUR OWN LIFE SOME DAY!!

I am so sorry to hear of what happened to you, wow! Glad your on the mend. I worked with a gal who had wls in 2004, a couple of years out she was on vacation in Mexico, luckily she met up with an American surgeon who was at the same resort. He had her flown home to Canada the next morning after he discussed her pain. Sure enough she had twisted bowel and could have died if she didn't have surgery right away.

Rare I think, but truly something for all of us to keep in mind.

Annette 

That gave me goosebumps.  God puts people where they need to be sometimes and that surgeon was definitely a God send.  The Peterson's Hernia is actually not all that uncommon now that I've researched it thoroughly and reminded myself of what I knew as a newbie.  But the pain didn't present like a twisted bowel, I thought maybe a stricture of a blockage or an Ulcer, but a twisted bowel didn't even enter my mind... not this far out... 

So sorry this happened to you.  I wonder if Petersons hernia can resolve itself without surgery?  At 3 yrs post RNY ( 2 yrs ago) I had horrible abdominal pain with distension.  What was unusual, for me, was that I had distension (bloating) above my belly button and I thought I would pop open!  The pain was excruciating. I was nauseated but did not vomit and I couldn't drink anything.  I did have a very small bowel movement that morning.

I tried to walk around the house but too painful, I tried heating pad but pain just got worse.  I called bariatric MD (3 hours away) and he said go to local ER - which I did.  A surgeon (who I know personally) came to see me.  He said my x-rays showed my small bowel was dilated to 11cm. (10 cm is full dilatation to deliver a baby).  He'd never seen any small intestine so dilated.  I got IV pain medication in ER & was admitted.  He wanted to do surgery but being a RN I asked him to wait a little bit.  I got IV muscle relaxers and more IV pain meds.  I did choke down liquid laxatives & magnesium citrate and started having diarrhea about 4 hours later.  The IV pain meds & muscle relaxers kept my pain manageable.  After 10 hours I had bowel sounds, was very cleaned out and x-rays  were OK.  I would have submitted to surgery if I hadn't started getting relief.

The surgeon told me I probably had an ileus (paralyzed bowel).  Reading your story - it makes me wonder - could I have had a Petersons Hernia?

  I've had terrible pain (without as much bloating) off and one for the last year.  I take a Bentyl capsule (bowel relaxer) and within 20 minutes the sharp pain goes away.

I've had 4 open belly surgeries and 3 laparoscopic ones - I have significant adhesions and doctors believe my intestines get twisted in the adhesions and that causes the pain.  I hope I NEVER go through the pain & bloating of 2 years ago.  I carry Bentyl with me at all times and will head to ER if pain does not go away within a couple of hours.  My "antenna" is alerted - as I'm sure yours is, too.

Best wishes and hope your story helps others be aware,

Penny

Penny,

I am a RN also. I had the RNY gastric bypass in 2003. I began having pain on and off 6 months postoperative. At 3 years post op the pain would not stop and I had to have surgery for Petersons Hernia. I thought it was fixed but at 5 years post op it happened again. I had to have surgery a 2nd time. I have heard of some people's obstructions clearing up without surgery. My guess is that the problem will continue to persist until surgery is inevitable. My surgeon had to suture the small intestine to the mesentary to close the gaps where the intestine was twisting. Good luck to you and please get help if the pain recurs. I believe this is a complication of the surgery that is very under reported. 

Thanks.  I am very much aware of when pain starts, where it is and how long it lasts.  I'm keeping a daily food journal the last few months - so I'm documenting the occurrences in my journal.  I will get myself to a ER if the pain is intractable and the distention gets bad.  I'm just fortunate I've not had to have surgery but I know it may come to that in the future.

I appreciate the posts telling of many occurrences.  Ugh!  Another reason to stay at goal, good health & labs within norms - just in case I have to submit to emergency surgery and increase my chances of a good recovery.

Thanks again, Penny

Penny,

I am a RN also. I had the RNY gastric bypass in 2003. I began having pain on and off 6 months postoperative. At 3 years post op the pain would not stop and I had to have surgery for Petersons Hernia. I thought it was fixed but at 5 years post op it happened again. I had to have surgery a 2nd time. I have heard of some people's obstructions clearing up without surgery. My guess is that the problem will continue to persist until surgery is inevitable. My surgeon had to suture the small intestine to the mesentary to close the gaps where the intestine was twisting. Good luck to you and please get help if the pain recurs. I believe this is a complication of the surgery that is very under reported. 

Wow that's scary!  My doctor did the same thing and sutured my bowels so they wouldn't twist again as well.  I don't know why this isn't a standard part of the procedure when we get the RNY since it's so easy to prevent and this is fairly common.. I couldn't imagine ever having to go through this again...

I had that 2 times... the Peterson Hernia.. 

I think it is more common than 1%... I think is very common ...

While I would not say very common, I do think it is greater than 1% as my surgeon spoke to me about it at the time of surgical consult as a possible complication.