Hello I had my VBG on 8/18/03 that is lets see.. 4 years out..  I have lost 105lbs and have managed to keep it off..  am I considered a long term success.. I dunno.. however  I am a success!!!   I heard all the failure stories.. I have a friend who had the bypass done around the same time I did..  she gained the weight back and is still struggling to start losing again..  point is you can fail at any of these surgeries.. if you allow yourself to eat the wrong things.. so don't worry about it.. it works.. i'm proof.. :)

I went in for the RNY surgery, and I've had numerous complications. Recently, I have been having problems eating solid food, and so I went in for a swallow test.

The results of my test said this (asteriks added for emphasis):

"Barium initially fills a gastric pouch however,
**there is no evidence of filling of a small bowel loop leading from the gastric pouch and the barium traverses the pouch into the stomach.**

Multiple surgical clips are seen surrounding the stomach.

IMPRESSION:

**A gastric pouch is present, however, this communicates with the remaining portion of the stomach.** The flow of the barium from the gastric pouch into the stomach is slow, however, and depends on the positioning of the patient before emptying occurs.

********No evidence of gastric bypass is noted with no opacification of a loop of bowel from the pouch identified. ********

My surgery has been fairly successful, but I am horrified to learn that my doctor misrepresented the surgery she gave me, and gave me a different one from the one I asked!!

Does this mean she gave me the VBG instead? Should I contact a lawyer? What do I do?

I am so hopping mad right now, because I am not yet in control of my addiction to food, and I've read that with the VBG, only 20% of patients maintain their weight loss after a certain time. I don't want to gain this back, I'd almost rather die, especially considering I ended up almost dying when I got the surgery, and was in the hospital for two months.

Someone please help me with any information, medical, legal, or otherwise.

Sara

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I didn't even realize there was a VBG board until I was told to click the "More Forums" button.  I also heard this is a quiet board and now that I see the dates of the posts I have to agree.

Dont give up. I had my surgery April 15, 1998 I lost about 80lbs really fast then slowed down. I got to a size 14/16 and didnt worry about it anymore. It is the same size I was in high school yet now at 45 not nearly as toned. I kept the weight off with little effort untill I had a car accident in Sept 05 that has left me a little too sedentary. I still eat the same but am not as active as I use to be. Now I am pretty much wearing sz 16. Cant place the blame on the surgery only on ability to move. This was a great thing I did for me and my kids and even though I now appear to be gaining again I wouldnt change the last 9 years for anything. Just keep on keepin on, I listened to my body, when it said full I quit eating. Keep at it and dont stretch your pouch, keep active and you will do fine. Feel free to contact me if I can answer any specific questions.

Same story, different date & patient.  My VBG was 9 years ago.  No pre-op.  No post-op.  No support.  I'm in the pre-surgical stages of revision to a lap-band.  I really wanted the RNY, but because I developed Crohn's Disease over the past 8 years, I'm not eligle for the bypass (too many life-threatening complications).   I'll be watching this thread.  Good luck to you.