Gastric Bypass Patient Recovering

(Sioux Falls, SD) When Patrick Deuel, 42, of Valentine, Neb., entered the Avera McKennan Hospital last June, his weight was approaching 1,100 pounds.


Patrick Deuel
(Photo: S. Villanueva, AP)
After being placed on a strict 1,200 calorie per day diet, he lost 421 lbs. as of Tuesday, when he underwent a nine-hour gastric bypass operation performed by lead surgeon Dr. Fred Harris, assisted by medical team of more than 20 members.

The operation took so long - Harris said anything more than four hours is unusual - because it involved two surgeries. The gastric bypass segment took only about an hour and went "very smoothly," Harris said. But first the surgeon had to contend with a more complicated endeavor.

As Deuel put on massive weight in recent years, excess fat put extraordinary pressure on the protective wall that holds his internal organs in place. At some point, the pressure forced a scar from a past gall bladder surgery to thin out. Most of his small bowel, part of his colon and other innards pushed through and created a watermelon-sized sac that hung outside his abdominal wall.

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Harris spent several hours delicately working to put everything back in place and repairing what was essentially a huge hernia. He had to sew mesh over the wound to make sure Deuel's innards stay in place.

Yesterday, Patrick Deuel awoke in the intensive care unit "doing very well," even cracking jokes. Dr. Harris stated that there were "no major problems so far," although, the real science is keeping Patrick Deuel alive afterwards. Any surgery entails risks such as infection or excessive blood loss, but obesity surgery also has the risks of leaking of the pouch, loosening of the gastric staples, and, in Deuel's case, a large hernia repair. Unfortunately, that's not the end of Deuel's ordeal since living with a gastric bypass has its own problems.


Since he still weighs 651 lbs., Deuel will be required to completely alter his lifestyle to accommodate the smaller stomach, a strict diet, an exercise program, and, after about a year, the need for plastic surgery to remove excess skin that has been stretched to extraordinary lengths. If Patrick Deuel surmounts all the difficulties associated with the surgical operations and living with the gastric bypass, which may take years, studies have shown that the odds are in his favor to keep the weight off and live a longer and healthier life. Interestingly, he appears to be in a good frame of mind for achieving success, having a positive outlook and a sense of humor. As an example, while preparing for the operation, Deuel mentioned to Dr. Harris that he was a Republican and, "when he gets inside there, if he finds anything Democratic, take it out."