No Duodenal Switch surgery!

Don't  give up. Maybe this is God warning you to get a 2nd opinion from another Dr.

I was approve to have a revision for the RNY .I wanted the DS but the DR only wants to due revision For RNY. Take your time time find the right Dr. I am currently researching.  Maybe that Doctor didn't have confidence in himself with performing that procedure .

I couldn't even get them to transfer my file to Hamilton last summer so I opted for self pay and had the surgery in Montreal within a month.     Could you call back and see if they would be willing to give you an appointment to discuss the VSG with Dr. Hong to get you in there and then plead your case?  I think that it's OHIP that is tying both hands behind the surgeon's back when it comes to the DS by only paying for it if the BMI is over 60.  Since Dr. Hong is the only option in Ontario for these patients, he may not be able to take on anyone else... 

Good luck and send me a message if you want details on my experience with the self pay route in Montreal.

Sorry to hear about about this new 60 BMI rule.  From what I've been reading there are a few places around the world which refuse to do the DS at a BMI over 60, because they consider the weight too high for a prolonged surgery to be sufficiently safe.  I'm really surprised Ontario would rule DS is fine for BMI of 60 or more, but can never be justified for less.

I was referred to Dr. Hong at the end of December, for a second opinion about appropriate surgical options.  I have not heard back about an appointment and will probably be told the same thing you were about the DS.  I am a lightweight with multiple co-morbidities, but in a position where the Roux-en-y does not look viable.  I am looking at the DS because I cannot do without NSAIDs and need at least a mildly acidic stomach for certain meds to work.  DS certainly requires a serious commitment to an extensive vitamin regimen and high protein diet, but I am willing and able to do this.  I hope I can still see Dr. Hong and at least ask about the VSG as that would solve the meds problem, even if it has less chance of resolving the co-morbidities sufficiently and in the long term.  You would think the physician would have the right to make the decision about the appropriate surgery.  Even if DS can't be done under OHIP, or even in Ontario, he still should be the person who could tell you if it is the appropriate surgery.

Best of luck in the future.  I hope you find a solution that helps.  Is the RNY not viable for you?  How about a VSG?

BMI of 60 is not the only criteria. My BMI is recorded as 49.4 and I was approved for DS with Dr. Hong only yesterday, due to complex diabetes which he said was one of the criteria. He wouldn't elaborate when I indirectly asked what the other criteria are.

Point being; try. Send letters, speak to the man himself. Find studies and articles proving that the DS is superior at resolving what comorbidities you have. He truly believes that DS is the superior surgery and he wants to keep doing them. The bureaucrats are giving him some grief, but the DS has been vetoed and brought back in Ontario before, surely it can be done again. Would I be this optimistic if it were me on the other end? Was I this optimistic two days ago? Hell no. But I know where you are coming from and I really, really, REALLY want to help. I feel so guilty for getting my approval when so many of the people I've gotten to know and, in some cases, love, are getting denied. Especially since my main, or only, feat has been to become diabetic!