Hi everyone!

Hi guys!            Fairly new here.  I had a RNY wayyyy back.  I am looking into a revision.  I still have gained back about 45 lbs. and still had 100 to lose so I think this is my only option.  I was wondering if anyone knew of anyone in either RI, Ma, or Ct. that did revisions and had good things to say about them.  Your help and knowledge is appreciated!                                                                                                 

HI I am in the RESTORe trial and there are 2 great DR, that work  At revsions one Is DR Lutz he does the Revsions and is awsome and DR. Thompson is one of the Pioneerse in Endoscopic Transoral procedures. Thay both are at Brigims and womens Hosp. in Boston. cheak them out  on the Web

Kimberly - I'm in the RESTORe trial too and had my procedure two weeks ago tomorrow (at least I think I had the procedure as opposed to the sham).  When did you have your procedure? Betsy

I had the actual procedure aug 4th...well I mean I was/am the shamKIM

Kim - So if you got the sham procedure, are you being given the option for the "real" procedure?  Your 6 months is up.

Hi Betsy and Kim, boy am I glad I found you! I am scheduled for an endoscopy surgical procedure with Dr. Thompson to reduce the size of my stoma opening - scheduled for 4/16.  Is this a revision??? Is this what you both have had done?  I don't want to do something that will not manifest in weight loss, but I'm unclear as to what exactly Dr. Thompson is doing and what the success rate is - all I know is that he has told me that my stoma opening is 31 cm. when it should be 10 cm.  I don't know if he is doing anything with my pouch. What is the "Sham" - and what is the "Restore" procedures? Gosh, any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. I don't know what to do! Maureen

Maureen - Are you being charged (or is your insurance being charged) for the procedure?  The RESTORe procedure is a clinical trial that has been conducted in a number of locations throughout the country, but is no longer enrolling patients.  The procedure endoscopically places sutures around the stoma to make it smaller.   The "sham" is what you get if you are the 1/3 of patients enrolled in the study who get a placebo instead of the actual procedure (it is a randomized trial and only 2/3 of the enrolled patients get the real procedure).  Each different procedure has a name, whether it's a clinical trial or a procedure for which they are charging you a fee (or billing your insurance company), and you need to find out exactly what procedure the doctor is performing on you.  Once we know that, we can be better equipped to answer you questions. Betsy

Thanks, sorry for the redundancy in my questions, I'm just so confused and anxious about all of this. My insurance is paying for the procedure. It sounds like Dr. Thompson will do the RESTORe procedure, are you happy with the results thus far? Are you continuing to lose the weight? Did he do anything additionally to your pouch? It sounds as if you tolerated the procedure well except for a very bad sore throat - what about internal pain? Here's why I'm asking, as silly as this might sound: I am schedule to ride in a dressage competition (riding is something I've taken up as an extreme passion since losing my weight!) about 10 days after my endoscopy surgery - there's a lot of jostling around in the saddle in this kind of riding - do you think I'll be able to do the show so soon after the RESTORe procedure? Thanks so much for your help, I won't bother you with any more questions after this! Maureen

I'm still confused - if you're having RESTORe, there should be no insurance involved - it's a clinical trial and is paid for by the study sponsor.  I could do practically anything 10 days after the procedure except eat.  Since you must keep sipping on clear liquids continually, there may be a challenge in getting all your fluids in during the competition, but as far as physically being able to do it, there should be no problem.  I had it done on a Thursday; Friday and Saturday were basically lost, and Sunday was some better.  I was back to work full-time on Monday and feeling fine (except still had some sore throat for a few more days).  You should be fine. Good luck! Betsy

Thanks for the info! I'll let you all know the outcome!