At what point do you stop worrying about leaks?

   I just read the profile of an individual who suffered a life-threatening leak 2 wks after surgery. How far out post op can you know you're out of danger of a leak?

Not really sure, depends how well you heal, I guess...

Donna

Anywhere from 1-2 months. The first two weeks are the most critical though. It's rare to develop one after that.

Note: it's that no one every finds one after that, but in those cases there are almost always symptoms right away that just got misdiagnosed.

I just asked my surgeon this when I saw him on thursday! He said after 2 weeks you are fine...unless you are already having symptoms and like macmadame said they symptoms are misdiagnosed...

What are the syptoms of a leak:?  Never thought to ask that question.  I am about 9 days post op.

My surgeon told me that the only patient of his to develop a leak did so at 2 months. She ate something that didn't go down (I'm guessing she didn't chew well enough or it was too soon for the food?) and started vomiting. That caused the leak. So he advised me to be super careful about food choices to avoid vomiting.

I am just starting to feel like I am out of the woods, at 3 months +.  But I still am careful to chew well and eat slowly. I think if you are careful, you will most likely have no problems!

I personally did not stop worrying until 3 month out. When I saw my surgeon he said usually 2-4 weeks but there have been patients that have had leaks later than that show up he said they were probably leaking small soon after that it just took that long to become a problem.

So be careful what you eat, go slow, small bites, soft foods, and chew well.


Cheers

Mo

I've never worried about leaks. My doctor has done many of these (they specialize in bariatric surgery) and they test for leaks before you leave the hospital. 

My surgeons specialized in bariatric surgery also, and did a leak test! But, lo and be hold, the shoulder pain was telling me something was wrong and it was a leak from the get go.

I didn't stop worrying about leaks until about 4 months out even though my surgeon told me that the first month was the most critical and to not vary the eating plan for the first couple of months. I did exactly as I was suppose to and had no problems. I had foamies twice and that really scared me that I would do damage, but I was fine.
Sharon