Strictures

[tangle]

Does anyone know how common strictures are? I just recently heard about people getting them. Did many people on the forum develop a stricture?

[amandataylor0819]

not sure how common they are but I did develop one, had dilataion done and have been fine ever since....

[DollHouseKiera]

Common enough that I've had over a dozen =)

Most sleevers develop a stricture or two eventually, most can be solved easily with an EGD dilation...

[tangle]

A dozen of them? Good God! You poor thing. I had not heard this problem mentioned by many people on here so I was curious. It will be interesting if I get one since I am having my surgery done out of the country. Who does this EGD dilation for you, do you go to a certain kind of doctor for that (bariatric, ENT)?

[DollHouseKiera]

A dozen of them? Good God! You poor thing. I had not heard this problem mentioned by many people on here so I was curious. It will be interesting if I get one since I am having my surgery done out of the country. Who does this EGD dilation for you, do you go to a certain kind of doctor for that (bariatric, ENT)?

My surgeon does the dilations and all of my EGD's, etc. I'm a "special case" so he insists that no one else treats me. I'm in 3 or 4 medical journals now because of my complications.

The EGD with ballon dilation is pretty easy, peasy. Outpatient at the hospital GI Lab, usually takes about 2 hours including check-in and prep. EGD procedure itself takes less than an hour. I get twilight sedation so I'm out like a light.

I am also the 0.001% of patients with this level of compication, so you're mileage may vary greatly from mine.

[tangle]

Good to know, and I hope life turns a kinder eye to you soon. Sounds like you have been on quite the journey.

[DollHouseKiera]

All the gory details are on my blog, linked in my sig line. This ride is far from over, still having complications, but thank you for the kind words =)

Best of luck to you.

[ToniDay]

What are they?

[tangle]

From what I gather, they are formed by scar tissue that builds up so much that it causes constrictions in your sleeve "stomach". It seems like they are something that appears after you are pretty much healed, which makes it scary. I guess you can just wake up one day at about 8 weeks post op, and then not be able to keep anything down. It sounds like they can insert some sort of balloon down your throat to dilate the area open again, but since my surgery is being done in MX I am a little concerned. I am not sure who I would see about it since my doctor will not be around, I guess I would just go to the hospital and let them sort it out. I would like to know if many people on this site have had to deal with them, especially people that went to MX like I am doing.

[Texgal]

I have had 5 friends have it done and none had that issue and all of them have had it 1 or so ago. Did y'all's dr tell u what might have caused it.

[DollHouseKiera]

Strictures are a partial or complete closing of the stomach pouch. They can be caused by a variety of things including scar tissue, over healing, and muscle tension. Strictures are sometimes caused by ulcerations and vice versa.

Partial strictures (which is the usual case) can commonly be "fixed" via en EGD procedure where, under sedation, the doctor places a scope with a small balloon attached into your mouth, down to the stricture point, inflates the balloon and leaves it inflated for 5-15 minutes. Complete strictures can be opened either via this same method, or if they do not respond to the stretching, they will be removed surgically.

The EGD procedure is generally done as an outpatient procedure and, without complications, only takes about 2 hours from check in to check out at the hospital.

Strictures seem to occur gradually, starting with symptoms like regurgitating foamy or slimy saliva, intolerance of solid foods, then progressing to intolerance of liquids. Severe or complete strictures will not even allow you to swallow and keep down your own saliva. Some of the strictures I have had came with severe abdominal pain. Some had no pain associated until I attempted to eat or drink. They can occur anytime (usually in the first 5 years) after your primary surgery. There is no real way to prevent a stricture from happening.

Hope this helps.