I found my balls and I got Dr. Martin's answer!

When he didn't answer me right away I thought....oh great I did offend him.....but like you vets suggested......he answered my quetions without any issue and even apologized that it took so long due to him being away doing field training exercises.

Here was his response to my questions of "how many DS's have you done, any complications.....any deaths.......and will anyone be cutting on me besides you?

Since we started doing the DS two years ago I've probably done about 30-40.  A couple have had to go back and have another operation, usually because they developed some bleeding or a bowel obstruction.  I haven't had to take anyone back in the past year. It is a complex surgery, but I think we are definitely at the point where we have our technique down well and it isn't much more difficult than a gastric bypass.  It's definitely a surgery that I'm extremely careful with every step to make sure that there aren't any problems.  I will have one of our senior residents assisting me, and this case definitely takes at least two people operating together.  But I do all of the key parts of the operation, and the other person only assists to help me.

I wouldn't worry too much about the band - we remove them all the time and convert to a sleeve gastrectomy (which is essentially that same think you would be having done), and the band usually comes off pretty easily.


So I was hoping it was over 100, but it isn't.  I have only seen 3 others on here post about Dr. Martin......2 of them I have some "pm" contact with and they are doing fine!  I have never been able to contact "LisaAnn" but I think she turned out alright too!   I wish he had the stats of some of the great revision docs but being in a MTF, I guess he just doesn't have them.   I haven't asked him how long I will be in surgery.....should I?   What other questions should I ask him.....now that I found my balls!!  LOL  

I never thought to ask
"will anyone be cutting on me besides you"
thats a good question.
I hope a vet will get back to you on asking how long you'll be in surgery

I'm glad you found your balls!!! Sounds like he was pretty honest in his answers. Didn't sugar coat anything.

Since we are so close to Madigan and we often get their referrals, I've seen many of his. Other than the lacking nutritional stuff, they are all doing well. They like him, like their follow up care.

Way to get out of your comfort zone and ask the hard ones. I am sure that you feel a lot better now. Keep asking anything that comes to mind at worst he will get to know you and you will get to know him better. One question you might want to ask is if he is going to leave any of your small intestine? I have about 8 inches left in to hopefully help absorb vit's. My surgeon said that he likes the odds better.

Great job of taking care of yourself and asking the hard questions!!

I am so glad you found your balls ! 

Does he use the Hess method for measuring your limbs ? How does he figure out your cc and the bougie size for the sleeve ? 

While he has had trouble removing bands, what happens if there is a problem with it being embedded ? I am not sure how long you have had your band, but that is a huge issue to know how he handles it, if it is not easy. Has he ever had a band that gave him problems with removal. I know he states "usually comes off pretty easy", but it might not.

I do not want to scare you, just for your to be prepared.

He is looking better. I am tired tonight, I will sleep on it and let you know if I think of something else.

He's also done SEVERAL other procedures I know at least 50 people who've had dr martin, healthy happy and alive, I only know a few DS's and the reason for that is a. its not a well known surgery people are like "you had what done?" and b. its for extreme cases, my surgeon doesn't recommend it to those under 48%, usually 50%, you did research and decided what you wanted... the 500+ people who start Madigan's program every month for weight loss surgery know what they're told and this is what they're presented with (In a nutshell obviously not detailed, all of these have percentages in their presentations of weight loss success rates etc...I was too)

1. Gastric band "we low success rate we don't recommend it, lowest risk, lots of people get revisions, but you can get it if you want"
2. Gastric sleeve "not a lot of alteration, smaller stomach, second lowest risk and least amount of diet change needed, restrictive, not malabsorbitive"
3. RNY "Great success rate, longest history, some complications can be worth it for the results, restrictive and mildly malabsorbitive, keep up on nutrition"
4. DS "Carries surgical risks, biggest change in anatomy, Highest weight loss, but it has the highest risks for malnutrition, combines highest malabsorbtion and includes restriction, usually for high BMI's and sometimes done in 2 step procedure (VS to DS)"

All I heard was "highest risks for malnutrition" and decided on RNY...my surgeon sat there and educated me on what it was, drew out a stomach (with some good art skills I might add lol) told me what he does, how much he leaves of the intestine, how to stay on top of nutrition, and what risks were...

Part of this is that I SAT DOWN with my surgeon, you are across the country and I recommend seeing if he will have a "phone" appointment with you, I met my surgeon in person and talked to him for like an hour about pros and cons of each surgery and asked all my questions, most of which he answered before I asked them...Then I went home and researched the DS because it had never really occured to me to get it before my meeting with him. I only knew about RNY and it was the "safe choice" for me... I would say that is the biggest reason why the numbers aren't as high as you would hope for...

As I told you in PM I went "back in" but it was because of a common issue of post-operative ilius which is basically my bowel was in shock, but to be safe my doc went in to make sure nothing was wrong (after MRI & contrast)... It kept me a couple extra days but really it was nbd...

"Ileus occurs from hypomotility of the gastrointestinal tract in the absence of mechanical bowel obstruction. Presumably, the muscle of the bowel wall is transiently impaired and fails to transport intestinal contents. This lack of coordinated propulsive action leads to the accumulation of gas and fluids within the bowel.

Although ileus has numerous causes, the postoperative state is the most common setting for the development of ileus. Indeed, ileus is an expected consequence of abdominal surgery. Physiologic ileus spontaneously resolves within 2-3 days, after sigmoid motility returns to normal. Ileus that persists for more than 3 days following surgery is termed postoperative adynamic ileus or paralytic ileus.^[1] Frequently, ileus occurs after intraperitoneal operations, but it may also occur after retroperitoneal and extra-abdominal surgery." (goes on to say it prolongs hospital stay until it resolves)

Great job asking questions! I think if you had the opportunity to sit down and talk to your surgeon you would feel a lot better.