Experiences with Dr. Buchwald...Revision from RNY to DS
Hi Everyone. I'd like to hear from anyone who's had Dr. Buchwald in Minnesota as their revision surgeon. I have a consult scheduled with him July 13. I want to switch from my RNY to a DS due to weight gain and an enlarged stoma. I know he only does open procedures. Please tell me about your experiences. How long were you in the hospital and off of work after the operation? Any complications? Any difficulties with insurance approval? I'd really like to hear from all of you. I'm very excited but nervous too. I'm just hoping and praying I'll be a suitable candidate for the surgery and that insurance approval won't take too long.
You might want to ask on the DS board. I wasn't aware that Dr. Buchwald did revisions from RNY. It's very tricky.
I had the revision in NJ with Dr. Greenbaum, but I can tell you what it was like. I went in on Monday, went home on Friday. I was out of work for 6 weeks. No major complications, although I picked up c. diff. Insurance approved it, I had Horizon BCBS NJ Direct Access, and they insisted I jump through the same hoops I did the first time around - nutritional consult, psych consult, sleep test, 6 months of a supervised diet. I was approved after 4 months, however, because the band on my stoma was causing esophageal erosion, so it was considered to be a mechanical failure.
I had the revision in NJ with Dr. Greenbaum, but I can tell you what it was like. I went in on Monday, went home on Friday. I was out of work for 6 weeks. No major complications, although I picked up c. diff. Insurance approved it, I had Horizon BCBS NJ Direct Access, and they insisted I jump through the same hoops I did the first time around - nutritional consult, psych consult, sleep test, 6 months of a supervised diet. I was approved after 4 months, however, because the band on my stoma was causing esophageal erosion, so it was considered to be a mechanical failure.
Thanks for the information on the DS board. I'll have to check it out. I was reading about your experience and it really impressed me and gave me hope that perhaps the DS revision will help me too. Congratulations on your success. I'm sure you will be well below your goal in time!
I'm hoping I won't have to go through all of the same hoops I did for the initial RNY surgery. Guess I'll find out more about that when I meet with Dr. Buchwald. I've been corresponding with one of his clients who had the same type of revision I had and she was very pleased with her experience with him. He only does open procedures though for this particular revision, so my healing time will be longer than the first time around, but that's to be expected given the serious nature of this operation.
What kind of band did you have on your stoma? The surgeon I saw here said that may be a possibility of dealing with the enlarged stoma, but then said it's not very effective and he did mention problems with erosion. Is it like a Lap-Band or something else? Again, thanks so much for sharing your personal experiences with me. I do appreciate it.
Can you tell me if you had to have a GI tube after your revision surgery and if so, for how long? That's one of my fears...that I'll have to have one in for a long time. It's a PTSD trigger for me so I'm hoping I won't have to put up with one for too long if it is necessary. Did you have a lot of pain afterward? My RNY was laproscopic and was pretty painful for the first week but then it got better. I'm wondering how much worse the open procedure will be, if at all. I usually have a pretty high pain tolerance, so I was surprised the RNY hurt so much....felt like someone split me across my middle. But I'm willing to deal with the pain. Looking forward to hearing more from you and I'll check out that DS board. Thanks again!
Warmest wishes,
Lisa
I'm hoping I won't have to go through all of the same hoops I did for the initial RNY surgery. Guess I'll find out more about that when I meet with Dr. Buchwald. I've been corresponding with one of his clients who had the same type of revision I had and she was very pleased with her experience with him. He only does open procedures though for this particular revision, so my healing time will be longer than the first time around, but that's to be expected given the serious nature of this operation.
What kind of band did you have on your stoma? The surgeon I saw here said that may be a possibility of dealing with the enlarged stoma, but then said it's not very effective and he did mention problems with erosion. Is it like a Lap-Band or something else? Again, thanks so much for sharing your personal experiences with me. I do appreciate it.
Can you tell me if you had to have a GI tube after your revision surgery and if so, for how long? That's one of my fears...that I'll have to have one in for a long time. It's a PTSD trigger for me so I'm hoping I won't have to put up with one for too long if it is necessary. Did you have a lot of pain afterward? My RNY was laproscopic and was pretty painful for the first week but then it got better. I'm wondering how much worse the open procedure will be, if at all. I usually have a pretty high pain tolerance, so I was surprised the RNY hurt so much....felt like someone split me across my middle. But I'm willing to deal with the pain. Looking forward to hearing more from you and I'll check out that DS board. Thanks again!
Warmest wishes,
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
The band around my stoma was permanent. It was a prolene mesh band and it was called the Capella method, after Dr. Capella in north Jersey. some doctors are putting it in after the fact, and it works like a lap-band would. If you have regain, it's not going to help. It just makes it harder to eat, and most people wind up eating around it by having softer (more carb-laden) foods.
After surgery I had a drain and a j-tube in my abdomen. It wasn't terribly comfortable but they didn't bother me. I hated the idea of taking in protein that way, so I just made sure to quietly sip all day long. I did have to flush the j-tube and did that daily. The recovery from the revision was painful, I won't lie, but I had so much done to me that it had to be. I did manage with the pain meds. The hospital hooked me to a morphine pump and gave dilaudid shots as necessary. I was sent home with liquid pain medication.
The first week at home I pretty much stayed on the couch. My back hurt quite a bit from having been in bed in the hospital. My first real trip out after my surgery (Dec. 21) was on Dec. 30, when I went to a local salon to have my hair washed, colored & trimmed. It wore me out!
Every day became easier. I found that the Syntrax Nectar protein powder was thinner than most of the others, so I drank that more than anything else. I didn't switch back to the thicker, chocolate shakes for a couple of weeks. I bought some of that supposedly tasteless protein powder to put in yogurt, soup, etc. I was extremely lactose intolerant when I got home and remained that way for awhile, but it's gone now.
My RNY hurt, I remember I had some really bad muscle spasms that caused me to shudder constantly, and it would set off pain in the incision. The DS pain was different, more of a regular surgical pain, but I was better able to manage it with the hospital's help. I think the problem for me the first time around was that I was in Newark, NJ and they didn't want to hand out enough pain meds.
Hang in there, Lisa, and any questions, feel free to contact me,
Adele
The band around my stoma was permanent. It was a prolene mesh band and it was called the Capella method, after Dr. Capella in north Jersey. some doctors are putting it in after the fact, and it works like a lap-band would. If you have regain, it's not going to help. It just makes it harder to eat, and most people wind up eating around it by having softer (more carb-laden) foods.
After surgery I had a drain and a j-tube in my abdomen. It wasn't terribly comfortable but they didn't bother me. I hated the idea of taking in protein that way, so I just made sure to quietly sip all day long. I did have to flush the j-tube and did that daily. The recovery from the revision was painful, I won't lie, but I had so much done to me that it had to be. I did manage with the pain meds. The hospital hooked me to a morphine pump and gave dilaudid shots as necessary. I was sent home with liquid pain medication.
The first week at home I pretty much stayed on the couch. My back hurt quite a bit from having been in bed in the hospital. My first real trip out after my surgery (Dec. 21) was on Dec. 30, when I went to a local salon to have my hair washed, colored & trimmed. It wore me out!
Every day became easier. I found that the Syntrax Nectar protein powder was thinner than most of the others, so I drank that more than anything else. I didn't switch back to the thicker, chocolate shakes for a couple of weeks. I bought some of that supposedly tasteless protein powder to put in yogurt, soup, etc. I was extremely lactose intolerant when I got home and remained that way for awhile, but it's gone now.
My RNY hurt, I remember I had some really bad muscle spasms that caused me to shudder constantly, and it would set off pain in the incision. The DS pain was different, more of a regular surgical pain, but I was better able to manage it with the hospital's help. I think the problem for me the first time around was that I was in Newark, NJ and they didn't want to hand out enough pain meds.
Hang in there, Lisa, and any questions, feel free to contact me,
Adele
I, too would like to invite you over to the DS board. There's quite a few of us who have had revisions.
I went to Dr. Keshishian in CA and was self pay because my insurance does not cover WLS . I had open surgery, no significant complications and went back to work at 5 weeks although I could have used a few more weeks to fully recover. I had surgery on Wednesday and was discharged on Sunday.
Have you read DSFacts.com? This type of revision is very co plex and you want an experienced surgeon. There are only a few expert vetted revision surgeons in the country.
Good luck. Hope to see you on the DS boards.
I went to Dr. Keshishian in CA and was self pay because my insurance does not cover WLS . I had open surgery, no significant complications and went back to work at 5 weeks although I could have used a few more weeks to fully recover. I had surgery on Wednesday and was discharged on Sunday.
Have you read DSFacts.com? This type of revision is very co plex and you want an experienced surgeon. There are only a few expert vetted revision surgeons in the country.
Good luck. Hope to see you on the DS boards.
-Gail-SW 257 CW 169 GW 165
Hi Gail,
I'll have to check out the DS boards. I've been posting on the revision forum recently. I just learned about the DSFacts website yesterday and have checked it out briefly. I plan to go back to it when I have a bit more time to peruse the web site.
Thanks for sharing the info. about your recovery. I've been wondering how long the hospitalization/post surgery recovery period will take. I have a sedentary job...work as a therapist, so I'm hoping perhaps I can go back to work sooner. I'll have to check with our HR person to see how our short/long term disability policies operate and to see if I'd be eligible.
I've heard that Dr. Buchwald is considered one of the few, vetted surgeons who performs this operation. He's the closest to me, but still five hours away. I've heard some good things about him from others who've undergone a similar revision. I've also heard good things about your doc as well. You're right...there are very few qualified surgeons who perform this operation. If I'm going through with this I want to ensure I'm in the best hands possible. I don't have time, or the money for costly errors or complications and am hoping none will develop.
Here's one question I have. Did you have to have a gastric tube after your surgery? I had one in very briefly after my RNY...just in the recovery room and it was removed before they brought me up to the surgical floor. However, that was traumatic enough. I have PTSD-related issues to having things forced down my throat and when I came to and had the tube down my throat, it sent me into a flashback and I almost pulled it out. I'm really hoping I won't have to have one in for long after a revision surgery. What was your experience?
Warmest wishes,
Lisa
I'll have to check out the DS boards. I've been posting on the revision forum recently. I just learned about the DSFacts website yesterday and have checked it out briefly. I plan to go back to it when I have a bit more time to peruse the web site.
Thanks for sharing the info. about your recovery. I've been wondering how long the hospitalization/post surgery recovery period will take. I have a sedentary job...work as a therapist, so I'm hoping perhaps I can go back to work sooner. I'll have to check with our HR person to see how our short/long term disability policies operate and to see if I'd be eligible.
I've heard that Dr. Buchwald is considered one of the few, vetted surgeons who performs this operation. He's the closest to me, but still five hours away. I've heard some good things about him from others who've undergone a similar revision. I've also heard good things about your doc as well. You're right...there are very few qualified surgeons who perform this operation. If I'm going through with this I want to ensure I'm in the best hands possible. I don't have time, or the money for costly errors or complications and am hoping none will develop.
Here's one question I have. Did you have to have a gastric tube after your surgery? I had one in very briefly after my RNY...just in the recovery room and it was removed before they brought me up to the surgical floor. However, that was traumatic enough. I have PTSD-related issues to having things forced down my throat and when I came to and had the tube down my throat, it sent me into a flashback and I almost pulled it out. I'm really hoping I won't have to have one in for long after a revision surgery. What was your experience?
Warmest wishes,
Lisa
Lisa,
I believe the revision surgeons in the US are Rabkin, Keshishian, Greenbaum, Stewart (?), Roslin. Dr. Gagner is in Canada.
I had a ng tube (nasal gastric) for 2 days I think, maybe 1. I don' t remember much of those days. I had 2 jp drains which Dr, K removed about 10 days after surgery and a j-tube (feeding tube) for 6 weeks which I removed myself after a phone consult with Dr. K.
Please post a question about revision surgery with your surgeon over on the DS board. I just don't have the information.
I believe the revision surgeons in the US are Rabkin, Keshishian, Greenbaum, Stewart (?), Roslin. Dr. Gagner is in Canada.
I had a ng tube (nasal gastric) for 2 days I think, maybe 1. I don' t remember much of those days. I had 2 jp drains which Dr, K removed about 10 days after surgery and a j-tube (feeding tube) for 6 weeks which I removed myself after a phone consult with Dr. K.
Please post a question about revision surgery with your surgeon over on the DS board. I just don't have the information.
-Gail-SW 257 CW 169 GW 165
Hi,
I met with Dr. Buchwald in April. He does revisions to DS. He is the closest surgeon I found that does them. He is SO NICE! Very good bedside manner. He definitely knows what he is doing.
I'm hoping for revision from lap-band to DS. I should be hearing from my insurance any day now. Good luck
I met with Dr. Buchwald in April. He does revisions to DS. He is the closest surgeon I found that does them. He is SO NICE! Very good bedside manner. He definitely knows what he is doing.
I'm hoping for revision from lap-band to DS. I should be hearing from my insurance any day now. Good luck
Lap band 4 years ago. Revised to DS 8-2-11
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