Can you Die from a leak?

Just for the record, leaks are not always the surgeon's fault.  Sometimes things happen outside the control of the surgeon.

Usually leaks are very small and with a drain the risk for infection is less.  Sometimes another surgery is required to repair the leak.  It depends on the size of the leak I think.

I know Adrianne had a leak when Huacuz did her surgery and that is where the surgeon's skill come into play.  Huacuz just isn't a great surgeon IMHO.  Her leak may or may not have been his fault but the way he handled the problem was the issue.  He tried repeatedly to fix it and kept making it worse.  She's fine today, that's all that matters at this point.

There are risks with every surgery.  Dr. Alvarez did a leak test on all of us, post-op, before we left the hospital.  My leak test was Sunday afternoon, and then I progressed to ice chips, and juice and jello on Monday morning before departing.  Many outside factors can happen, lifting or pulling a suitcase, carrying too much baggage of any kind, her pain started in the hotel, and the pt called 911.  She was taken to the hospital, the staff would have much preferred she called them immediately, and they would have advised her what to do next.  Dr. Alvarez is a wonderful, skilled, excellent surgeon.  I trust him with my life, and I had the worst liver, fatty liver, he had ever seen.  Dr. A put a drain in my left side, he rarely uses a drain, but I needed one. This procedure has saved my life...in the long run.  He told me my liver will heal itself over the next 2 months. I have been in contact with Susan, his pt coordinator, they wanted to know I made it home safely.  Dr. Alvarez even emailed me back within 5 minutes of my sending him an email that I arrived home safe and sound.  At this point I pray she recovers and can continue her journey, that we all acheive our goals of health.

One thing that has not been said here is...Ya, you can die from a leak, if one does not pay attension to thier symptoms.  That is why patients are to keep an eye on thier temp, and pain....A high fever and pain should tell a patient to get to an ER for a potiental leak problem.  The longer one waits the worse it can become. 
I know a lady on here who developed a leak 2 weeks after surgery.  She spent a long time in the hospital.  Sometimes a leak must heal on its own, the tissue can be too fragile to stitch up.  Some docs prefer to see if a leak will heal on its own.  There are just so many variables in the leak dept.
I hope this helps...

Dr. Alvarez is 2 hours from San Antonio airport hotel where you fly in and out of.  That would make me want to go back to him if I had complications in the hotel.  I will heed all advice, mainly packing lightly and asking for a wheelchair when changing flights on the way home.

I guess this is a reminder for all of us yet to have surgery to REALLY LISTEN AND FOLLOW ORDERS!!!

Very good advice, I took way too much stuff, for my trip.  I wore pj;s more than clothes, my friend took real good care of me, and pushed all the luggage for us.  I took 4 bullets, and gave 2 to my fellow sleever, she did not have any bullets.  I asked the hotel for extra pillows and propped up the last night, to reduce the acid reflux.  I was treated like a Queen my entire trip home. I requested a wheelchair, but did not need it, and I told the gate attendant I had just had surgery, she allowed me to board 2nd behind a wheelchair pt.  I sat on the first row of the swest flight, with plenty of leg room, no stretching and reaching to get into the seat.  Good Luck!!!!!!

Yep, you can die from a leak . . . and I was thisclose to finding that out first hand.  I developed a leak 2 weeks after surgery, despite choosing an excellent surgeon with a fantastic record and following all post-op rules.  It just happened, we don't know why. 

My symptoms were a sudden, 105 degree fever and the worst pain of my life (worse than childbirth).  I required 3 subsequent operations to fix the leak and clear out the raging infection in my abdomen.  My intestines were so swollen that it took my medical team 3 days to be able to close me up, so I was in ICU with an open 18-in*****ision in my abdomen.  I was on a ventilator and in a coma for 3 weeks, and in the hospital for 6 weeks total.  I was off work for 4.5 months total; I was incredibly weak after spending so long immoblile in the hospital and left the hospital using a walker, barely able to walk.  It took 2 months of physical therapy to get back to normal.

So . . . this is a very serious surgery.  Leaks can and do happen to anyone, for many reasons, although thank God they are rare, and not always as critical as mine was.  I still struggle with guilt over almost leaving my 2 year old son motherless and my husband a widower.  BUT, thanks to God, my fantastic family, my wonderful medical team, and my youth & good health, I pulled through my VSG disaster and am now healthy, happy, and 95 lbs lighter.  Not to mention the new outlook on life and "don't sweat the small stuff" attitude that almost dying gives you :)

Ok you guys are scaring me now. Would someone please calm me down, I was so excited about getting a sleeve.

 Ok, I'm going to try to get you off the ledge.  I have been an ICU nurse for 18 yrs.  Yes things like that can happen and do happen.  As long as they are caught early and treated properly, you should be fine.  Thats why you have to chose a place and a surgeon that is equiped to handle such a thing. What happens with a leak is that it causes peritonitis, which is an inflammation of the abdominal cavity. Peritonitis can have other causes, but a gastric leak is one of them.  Peritonitis can easily lead to infection, especially if there is leakage from the bowel.  The infection can lead to overwhelming sepsis, also called a "blood infection" by lay-people. In a case that has had a leak leading to the peritonitis, surgery is required to both fix the leak, and also clean out the abdominal cavity.  Sometimes the organs, etc are so swollen from the irritation and trauma that the abdomen has to remain open until it subsides, or sometimes drains or used.  The most dangerous thing is the infection, which can cause you to go into septic shock, which is very bad. Not irreversible, but bad.  These things can happen with any abdominal surgery or spontaneous bowel rupture or abdominal trauma.  BUT IT IS A RARE OCCURENCE  WITH ELECTIVE SURGERY!!! That is an important distinction. Most of the time when these horrible things happen, it's not during a carefully planned and monitored elective surgery.  When it happens, it is usually with much bigger, badder surgeries, like bowel resections for cancer, stabbing or gunshot wounds that nick the bowel, ruptured bowel from a massive bowel obstruction, a steering wheel to the chest and abdomen! Those scenarios are where you see big problems. Not to say that it cant happen. But you are at more risk getting into your car and driving to the grocery store than you are of having this complication. BTW, please wear a seatbelt. Always. 

Thank You.

My post was meant to inform, not scare . . .

I just feel a duty to inform others of potential complications from the VSG, so you know what you are getting into.  I certainly did not think that a leak would happen to me, but it did, and I wasn't prepared for everything that followed.  They are very, very rare occurrences, but there is always the possibility that you will be that tiny statistic, like I was.  Doesn't mean that you shouldn't have the surgery - I am certainly glad that I did! - but it should give you pause to really think about what a big decision having this surgery is.