Is the VSG a sleeve or a pouch?

If I'm wrong and something has changed I'll certainly gladly correct myself.  But it used to be that one of the reasons folks chose the sleeve or the RNY was the need for them to continue to take NSAIDS.

Hoping the other vets will chime in here, especially if I am mistaken so I can make the correction.

On the ASMBS website it mentions 'some surgeons no longer recommend NSAIDS  for VSG.' Couldn't find if they definitivly don't recommend it...I have heard it is no longer recommended but can't find an actual reference .....That being said you were correct in that was a reason in why people chose sleeve over pouch....

"one of the reasons folks chose the sleeve or the RNY was the need for them to continue to take NSAIDS"

AmyR, I assume you meant "chose the sleeve or DS..", as those are the ones that can take NSAIDs, but not RNY?

And to the OP, I have the DS which has a sleeve, and am very clear at any medical appt I have, and have yet to visit a dr or medical facility and have them put anything but "gastric bypass" in the report. NOT ONCE. Your assumption that they will get it correct just because you state your surgery is laughable.

Also, the lower number of visits to this site isn't newbs have left that don't want to be corrected, it's the long timers that realize dealing with posts like this, and past moderation problems aren't worth the time. 

Medical people outside the bariatric community often need to be taught our anatomy. 

It seems they are changing their minds about NSAIDS for sleeves. I feel sorry for the folks that chose that surgery so they could still take those meds.

My dr is one that advises caution across the board with NSAIDs, as they are hard on even a normal stomach (and the liver), so those of us that have had stomach tissue cut should be even more cognizant of following directions with them. She still says NONE if you've had RNY, because it's an issue of the remnant stomach. 

I'm one that chose DS in part because of the need for NSAIDs, and have degeneration in my back so am grateful when I need them, but had ulcers from misuse long before I had any surgery. Even those that can take them must not overuse, or take them on an empty stomach (which is what I did).

I also think we have an obligation to teach our medical professionals about our surgeries (especially those of us with less familiar surgeries). That's the reason I immediately read the reports and make them correct "gastric bypass". If someone reads it in the future for any procedure or medication that my stomach changes may be relevant to, it needs to differentiate between pouch and sleeve. 

I don't know why anyone would say "I have a pouch"

or "I have a sleeve" in a medical appointment. I've said "I'm getting sleeved" and got a puzzled look. Now I say vertical sleeve Gastrectomy. 

We should reference our surgery we had. Not our nicknames stomach cavity lol

to do otherwise would just be irresponsible 

I can understand on a forum saying "man my pouch/sleeve has been giving me a lot of trouble". But a doctor? Yikes (in regards to the question: any major surgery?

"ya doc, I got a pouch."

I DO expect them to know what they are dealing with when I say I have a sleeve, and don't need them for my care if they are so clueless they don't know the difference. 

I've had both medication and a procedure that were different depending on sleeve vs pouch. IF you ever need an ng tube placed, you may not be able to speak, and you better hope they differentiate between sleeve, or pouch. It matters, no matter how strenuously you try to convince yourself, or anyone here, otherwise. 

I dont know. I just find it somewhat irresponsible to seek medical help and reference only sleeve or pouch. I personally would NEVER even consider doing that. On a forum amongst people looking for advice, sure. In a situation where I'm reeiving medical help, its the surgery name.

Just like how its recommended bariatric patients wear medical bracelets I sure as hell would not put "sleeve" and call it a day. I'd have vertical sleeve gastrectomy marked. Anything less is irresponsible and dangerous on MY part.

Yes - when I talk to medical professionals outside the bariatric world, sleeve or sleeve gastrectomy has little or no meaning to them, but a vertical gastrectomy (for weight loss) does sink in and they have a fairly quick understanding of what was done.

To me, the main difference in pouch vs. sleeve terminology is, as some others have noted, a matter of precision. A pouch generally refers to a passive vessel, whether formed by carving up the top of the stomach, banding off the top of the stomach, or fabricating an enlargement in the small intestine, as is sometimes done with a total gastrectomy. A sleeved stomach remains an active organ like the full sized stomach, with much the same muscularity and digestive functions (this is why VSG patients who are put on extensive liquid diets pre- and post-op often have a harder time getting back to tolerating real food as the stomach has to re-learn how to do its job after all that time off resting - it's lost some of its muscle tone, so to speak.) Likewise, some who have gone through a band to VSG revision have noted the differences in feeling and eating style between the two

My doctor told me to stay away fro NSAIDs also and I am sleeved.