Anyone revised from sleeve to DS?
on 11/5/11 3:00 pm
on 11/6/11 2:33 am
As I said on the revision board in response to your post on this thread http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/revision/4468878/Sleeve-to -DS-judgemental-3rd-revision/, after you said (regarding my warning about not using non-vetted DS surgeons) "10:46 am
Thanks for the reply. I understand your support of DSfacts.com. However, not all docs are listed on that website. The website has a lot of information, but it is up to each of us to check out credibilty of doc's for ourselves. Usually doc's listed, they are paid to advertise on these sites. Please do not be offended Diana. Dr. David Provost has more experience than all the rest in Dallas/Ft area so I am contacting him and the local forum in the area for their experience with various docs."
My answer:
DSFacts is NOT supported by advertising by any doctors. There is a core group of DS vets who consult with the owner of the site, who is also a DS vet. Surgeons get on the list by our vote of confidence, based on the experiences of other patients and the owner's own investigation. We have had surgeons contact us and ask to be added - and that is not going to happen. Ditto when they complain about being deleted, when their performance and behavior with patients demonstrate that they are no longer endorsable. Provost is NOT an experienced DS surgeon by our standards, and in all my years in the DS world, I can't think of a SINGLE DS patient of his posting on OH or any other website I read.
You are free to use any surgeon you want. SOMEONE has to be the guinea pigs for new DS surgeons to get the experience necessary to get on the DSFacts list - but I wouldn't subject myself to being a guinea pig, thankyouverymuch.
The switch part of the surgery is FAR more complicated and difficult than the sleeve, and not having an experienced surgeon, especially for what is in essence a revision, requiring not only dealing with the potential for a need for resleeving, the difficulty of the duodenal suturing, AND for making the difficult decisions regarding how to apportion your limb lengths based on your medical history and his experience so as to provide the best chance of weight loss while minimizing risk of malnutrition sounds like a recipe for potential disaster. I just can't imagine why you would think someone who is a surgeon who is not known to veteran DSers even as a virgin DS surgeon would be good enough.
Good luck with that.
Thanks for the reply. I understand your support of DSfacts.com. However, not all docs are listed on that website. The website has a lot of information, but it is up to each of us to check out credibilty of doc's for ourselves. Usually doc's listed, they are paid to advertise on these sites. Please do not be offended Diana. Dr. David Provost has more experience than all the rest in Dallas/Ft area so I am contacting him and the local forum in the area for their experience with various docs
Woah! Hang on! Who the heck is Provost? I've never heard of him.
Hands down, the single best surgeon for the DS in TEXAS is Darryl Stewart. He's right there in Denton. He is listed among the BEST DS surgeons in the entire US as well.
The only other DS option in the DFW area is Wade Barker who I have personal issues with but is coming along as a DS surgeon.
I will also reiterate that the docs listed on dsfacts.com do not pay for the privilege, ulike those listed on this site.
Give me stats on Provost. I'm curious. I'm starting to think some docs just get up in the morning and say "Hey, think I'll claim I do a complex and fiddly surgery today!! It'll be fun"
on 11/6/11 9:22 am
The docs listed on Ds.com are compiled by someone named Melanie. Below is a list of North American Duodenal Switch surgeons. Firstly, a shout out to Melanie M. at duodenalswitch.com for creating the original DS Surgeon List.
This list of surgeons should be a starting point, not an ending point, it is provided for informational purposes only; it is your responsibility to research your surgeons credentials, the hospital conditions and complication rates, etc. Never be afraid to ask your surgeon about his/her complication and mortality rates; any reputable surgeon will be happy to discuss those statistics with you.
Raggamuffin,
I am not here to fight with you or debate with you. Or who is right or wrong. I may go with Stewart or Barker. The choice is mine. Thats the thing I hate about Obesity help. Some people like you all of sudden become experts cause they lost a little weight and be all closed minded. NONE OF US KNOW EVERYTHING PERIOD! NOT Even my sister 15 years out and keeping 100+ pds off Rny who is an MSN RN. WE are all LEARNING and CHANGING ALL THE TIME. At least I am. You may reply back and say where is all this coming from? Well read your reply. Instead of sharing with me your story of why Dr. Stewart was good for you,how much you lost, your struggles and how the staff was etc etc. You do the BullSh*t. challenge of needing stats etc! Thats really helpful! It's been a couple years since I posted. "I can do anything you can do better type attitude" doesn't help from the haters. Gotta go and enjoy the rest of my Sunday.
If you read my post on the Texas board you will find my anecdotal evidence for why I recommend Stewart. You will also read all the stats for Dr Stewart that I requested of Dr Provost from you.
Every patient should ask those questions of the person they are planning to have their surgery from. I've had my surgery. I don't need to know Provost's stats. You do. Every patient who chooses a surgeon needs that information about their surgeon. I fail to see why it is offensive that I should ask you what you know about him.
We asked and got that info from Stewart before we walked into his office and we demand that our patients who go to him report back with that info as well. Why, given we already know it? Because it encourages DS patients to question health care providers and stand up for themselves.
Personally, I don't care about their office staff's personality. If the surgeon is good he can have a pack of rottweilers in the front office, as long as they can do the job. I had to self-pay so they really didn't matter much. You do need to know they have experience dealing with insurance. Dr Stewart's office has undergone some staff changes but they know what they are doing and they get it done.
I not only have my experience and my husband's, but I am part of a 30 patient group here in Lubbock. 2 by Barker, 3 by Keshishian, and the rest by Stewart. Again I shared some of those anecdotes on the Texas board, for example that none of our Stewart patients had complications, while the Barker patients, one had a severe post-op complication and the other was baited with the promise of an RNY to Ds revision and wound up with an ERNY.
My husband, 2 years out, started at 342, is now to 160. Lost all his comorbidities. I started at 230, now one year out am 125. No struggles, other than the odd craving for Mac & Cheese. Does that help somehow?
The only thing I challenged about anything was Dr Provost's claim to do the DS. I wrote the response on this board before I saw his website, where he fairly clearly establishes that he does not do the DS.
You say you've posted here a couple years ago. Perhaps you've seen the disasters that can happen when people decide to wander off and entrust their lives to surgeons with little or no experience.
I'm not sure any one has ever categorized me as a hater before, simply for trying to help. It casts a slight pall on the God Bless you offered me earlier.