Revision from VBG to RNY?

Hi there,

I am new here, I have read a couple of stories similar to mine, but it seems they were logged quite a few years ago.

I had the horrible Vertical Banded Gastroplasty 21 years ago, that apparently is no longer being done.  The doctor that did the surgery has since retired and I have an appointment with a general surgeon in Calgary. 

I have struggled for the last 21 years with issues, after my first year, I had to get the band revised, which at that time meant an open surgery again.  The issues still never went away, I threw up most of the food that I ate, especially veggies, whole grains and even fruits :(  In order to lose the weight that I gained I would do crazy low calorie diets 500 cals to be exact, I'd lose the weight and feel good again, but as soon as I started eating regular foods again, on would come the weight.

Over this last year, I have been diagnosed with BED and depression, both of my parents have been on and off of their death beds, I had a horrible breakup and all of my kids have left the nest and my best friend died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 43.  Hence the depression and the eating, as I eat my feelings.  I am sure someone can relate to that? 

Anyway, I since have also been diagnosed with LPR (silent GERD), my voice has become raspy (and not the sexy kind lol), its hard to swallow and i am up most of the night coughing.  I still throw up all the good stuff and can certainly eat a lot of the bad easy to go down stuff, I have diverticulosis and about 4 years ago had a colon resection due to diverticulitis and I was only in my mid 40"s, I have pain in both of my hips and my lower back due to degenerative disc disease.  I am a complete mess and I am not even 50 yet...oh yeah and the "change" has also started.

So back to my point here, I am seeing Dr. Debru in Calgary on Feb 8 and I am hoping that he will consider me a candidate for revision to an RNY as I think the VSG might not work especially since i have the GERD issue.

Anyone with anything similar? Was there a problem getting the revision? I am sure it will probably have to be an open surgery (which sucks cause after I lost all my weight I got a tummy tuck and now its not so tucked anymore)

Thoughts?

Rubyblue

I had VBG in 1986 and suffered complications from day one.  I had 6 tumors removed from my esophagus caused by GERD and was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus.  My surgeon really butchered my stomach and I had gone to 6 specialists who told me they had never seen anything like this.  I was finally referred to Mayo Clinic where the top surgeon told me the thought he could fix it.   My RNY does not look like anyone else's, but it worked.  I feel GREAT!

Don't bother with VSG, it could actually make your GERD much worse.  I revised to RNY in 2010.  I woke up from surgery pain free for the first time on over 25 years.  I can eat without vomiting every meal!  RNY saved my life.

 I am 15 pounds below goal and have maintained my weight for over 5 years.    I looked at my revision as a last chance and became an avid rule follower.  I don't eat junk and I measure every portion out and stop eating.  I know if I didn't I would over eat and gain the weight back. I never drink with my meals.  I stay on track because I don't want to ever go back to the pain I went through with the VBG.

Don't wait a minute longer. RUN to that revision surgeon.  It will give you your life back.

My surgery was open.  It was a very complicated surgery that took a long time because of the bad job the VGB surgeon did and the excess scar tissue.  I think most people with VBG end up with a revision.  VBG was an epic failure and most surgeons don't even question the need for a revision.  They consider it a mechanical failure.

Thank you so much for sharing your story, it sounds very similar to mine. What was your BMI when you had your revision? 

I had regained about 50 pounds and my BMI was 36.

Again thank you for sharing.

I am not sure if you know or not but after you meet with the doctor how long does it actually take to get in for surgery?

That I can't tell you.  My surgeon at Mayo would have done the surgery the same week that I saw him. He told me that I could not wait much longer without serious problems.  I had to fight with my insurance company for 9 months to get approval.  It was TERRIBLE.  I was very sick and told that I needed the revision to stay alive.  My insurance company kept telling me that the revision was "experimental".  When I finally got approval from the insurance company I was in surgery three days later.

Who you sure have an amazing story, I bet you are so happy you are finally healthy again. Well I hope I won't have an issue. Guess I'll have to get scoped first to see what kind of damage there is on the inside. I'm nervous because when I had my vbg done in 98 a year later I had a scope and the staple line had come undone, and that was also open surgery. Then in 2000, I had the same issue and he went in and cut me open a third time. He told me I will never be able to have another revision or a reversal as I had too much scar tissue around my pancreas. So I'm worried that I won't be able to get the RNY :( or anything for that matter. Have you ever heard of someone not being able to have a revision because of too much scar tissue?