Anyone have experience with Dr. Sudan at DUke hospital for DS?

I live in North Carolina and I was wondering if Dr. Sudan performed rny revision to DS. Otherwise I think Dr. K in California is probably my best bet. Thanks so much for any feedback.

My understanding is that he does revisions of lap band to DS but I don't think he does RNY to DS. There are very few surgeons who do this. If you want to stay on the East Coast, you could contact Dr. Mitchell Roslin in NYC. There is also Dr. stewart in Denton, TX, and the on the West Coast Dr. K. and Dr. rabkin. Dr. Simper in (I think) Utah has also started doing them.

Larra

Larra,

Thanks so much for taking time to give me some feedback. Yes I want an RNY to DS revision. I am surprised that there are so few surgeons doing this when it seems like this is such a ripe market. I wish I was even told about DS, but no one ever mentioned it and now look at all the failures with RNY I really wish DS people could reach out to RNY candidates and talk with them. One of the biggest mistakes of my life.

It would be a ripe market, as you put it, if it weren't for the fact that the operation carries considerable risk, and also becaue it's far more difficult to get insurance to pay for it than for a first time bariatric surgery. But I do agree with you that RNY fails more often than many pre-ops realize, and that it's a shame that more pre-ops don't know about the DS.

So some of us do try to reach out to pre-ops. The message is sometimes well received and sometimes not. Unfortunately, the number of people that can be reached even on an active website like this one is just a tiny fraction of the people looking into wls. And a lot of people just want to do what is familiar to them, or what is easiest to get their insurance to pay for, or closest to home, or what a surgeon who doesn't do the DS has pushed at his/her free seminar. And some surgeons exagerate the potential risks and side effects of the DS so as not to lose paying customers. so there are a lot of reasons why people don't get the DS and end up with regrets. I've seen many posts from people like you who didn't even realize there was such a thing as a DS before they had whatever operation they ended up with.

I hope you are able to get your revision.

Larra

You really don't want a tiny little Sleeve---it can lead to problems with acid reflux, strictures, etc.  And size doesn't seem to be much of an issue with the DS.  I don't know if she still posts here, but we have a member who, due to some medical complications, has DS intestines but a completely normal stomach. She lost all her weight and is having no trouble maintaining.

Now that's very interesting...A normal size stomach with a duodenal switch..That is the first time I'm hearing of that!..

Dr. Sudan did my DS on July 16.   I am very pleased with him and his staff.  I have my first pre-op on Monday.  After we have our meetings, he will always ask if I have more questions for him.  I've never had a doctor ask me if I have more questions, they are usually ready to leave and go to the next patient.  I am still new to this whole process and have a lot to learn about life after DS, but I would very highly recommend him.  My hospital experience was nothing but pleasant and the staff was wonderful.

Another Sudan patient here. I had vsg to ds revision with Dr. Sudan in August 2011. I am one of the few unfortunate who had complications. I developed infectious necrotizing pancreatitis after my revision. I spent months at Durham regional hospital. This was not Dr. Sudan's fault. I had terrible scar tissue in my abdomen which caused trouble with my pancreas.I say this not to scare anyone but to attest to how awesome Sudan is. I know he is the reason I lived through my complications. He is a very quiet humble man but don't let that fool you; he is a fighter and would not give up on me even when I gave up on myself. Duke is extremely fortunate to have him.