Your opinion on having the DS performed by "virgin" surgeon

 Hello everyone,

I'm supposed to have the DS in 3 months done by a surgeron who has currently never done it, and has scheduled 3 DSs before me...

I live in France where almost nobody does that surgery, and definitely no surgeon does it within 500 miles around where I live.

I've had 2 lapbands and a VSG (all failed, I started at 233, I'm currently 281)

So the DS is my only effective option but the surgeon will have very low experience with that surgery.
She will be assisted by another surgeon (but I don't know if he has actually performed the surgery himself).

I would like to have your opinion about that, should I still go for it, or just forget about it and probably stay obese (because I won't go to the USA just to get the surgery)?

Thanks,
Sara

Comment pulled because OH refuses to respect members privacy and moderates unfairly.

Would you be willing to go to England for surgery?  I can't recommend Mr Ameet Patel highly enough.  I mean I travelled all the way from Australia just to have him as my surgeon.  Revision surgery from what I understand is a whole other ball park, you'd really be best going with someone who has ALOT of experience (which Mr Patel does btw).  Here's his website in case you're interested: http://www.obesitysurgery.co/

For me, it would depend on who the second surgeon was. If the new doc is proctoring under an experienced DS surgeon, who was going to be present for the entire surgery, I might go ahead (for example, I know Dr. Gagner recently trained a surgeon in Qatar to perform the DS). But really, you have an excellent surgeon right next door in Spain, Dr. Baltasar, so why not see him? There are also two French surgeons listed on the DSfacts website:

Daniel Krawczykowski, MD
Email: [email protected]

Centre hospitalier de Vitry-le-François
2, rue Charles Simon
BP 413
51308 Vitry-le-François cedex
France
Phone: 03 26 73 60 60
Fax: 03 26 73 60 63
Email: [email protected]

Philippe Topart, MD
Email: [email protected]

Clinique de l'Anjou
87 rue d'Orgemont
49000 Angers
France
Phone: (33) 2 41 47 57 43
Fax: (33) 2 41 47 57 10

I couldn't wait until tomorrow, I've sent an email to Dr Krawczykowski just now, thank you so much !

No.

NO.

NO!

NO!!!

No way would I let an inexperienced surgeon touch me, not for a virgin surgery, and ABSOLUTELY NOT for a revision.  You will likely need a sleeve revision too, and that is a VERY dangerous surgery.

There are FAR more experienced surgeons in France and elsewhere in Europe.  Travel is a far better option than dying or having horrible complications at the hands of an inexperienced but ****sure surgeon.

NO!! Just don't do it.  This surgery has a STEEP learning curve.

Go to Baltasar in Spain or Himpens in Belgium, Weiner in Germany.

Dr. Baltasar is an excellent, excellent surgeon. He has many US patients a lot of whom used to be on this board and a few still are.

Make it happen with an experienced surgeon, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!

Michele

we had a girl here in AZ this summer who died from letting an inexperienced revision surgeon try to revise her from a lapband to the DS. The surgeon had been learning under an experienced surgeon who was to be the lead surgeon on it and pulled out at the 11th hour and she decided she would allow the assistant surgeon to go ahead and do it anyway. She died within a day or two before they could get her back into exploratory surgery from ICU to see what was going wrong.

She was so young and hopeful about the new life she would have from the DS. It was heartbreaking for us all. It just reminds us to make sure to chose a vetted revision surgeon not someone still learning! It's not an easy surgery so don't risk your life!

.

because you are a revision patient, especially lap band i would not have surgery by a surgeon who had not performed the DS UNLESS he was proctored by a vetted, seasoned DS surgeon only. I was a proctored patient for the lap band as I was the first pt to receive the lap band in my state.  the procoring surgeon in in the OR and will jump in if necessary.   Please be careful and use a surgeon who is well versed in the DS especially with a lap band esophogus.  wishing you well....