Open RNY to DS Revision

Hello!

I had an open RNY in 2001.  I am now looking at getting a revision, preferably the DS based on my research.  I live in Ohio but am willing to travel.  I am looking at Dr. Keshishian but would be interested in something closer to home.  Does anyone know of other doctors that have done this procedure (the more times the better)?  I have looked into Eliany (SP?) but do not like that he bills his service out of network as I have no out of network bariatric benefits!

Any other input regarding open RNY to DS revision would be appreciated!!  I have also posted on Revision board.

Thanks,

Courtney

Hi Courtney,

I am 6 weeks post op from RNY to DS. I understand the desire to stay close to home, but honestly, you can't do better than Dr. K. As someone who's suffered at the hand of a less experienced surgeon, it is SO worth the extra effort and expense to travel to the best. I could have avoided a whole surgery and recovery if I had just gone to Dr K when I had decided on revision. I wish you the best. 

Revisions are very tricky, so it's wise to go with someone like Dr. K.  I'm not sure if the surgeon in Knoxville does them, but that's another possibility.

RNY to DS revision is the most complex and high risk bariatric surgery being done. There are only a few DS surgeons who do this operation, so your choices are limited. Your options include Dr. Keshishian in Glendale (near Los Angeles) Dr. John Rabkin of Pacific Laparoscopy in San Francisco, Dr. Ayoola in Denton, TX (well regarded but newer to this revision than the others), Dr. Greenbaum in NJ, who does them on a selective basis, and Dr. Roslin in NYC. There may be one other that I'm forgetting, but you get the idea - not many options.

The operation requires completely taking apart your gastric bypass, putting everything back together in the original anatomy, and THEN doing the entire DS. It's a lot of surgery, possibly a lot of scar tissue to deal with, etc. So you really need a very experienced DS surgeon who is familiar with these revisions, and many people need to travel to have this done. That's unfortunate, but that's the reality.

Larra

I would add Dr. Ungson in Mexicali, MX. has the chops to be on that very short list.   

I would also add my voice to the people that say do not use geographic location as a qualification.  Especially distance, I mean once you have to travel, in modern times, it doesn't really matter too much how far you have to go.   I didn't have a revision, but I did travel for my DS and it wasn't a big deal.  It had pluses and minuses, just like everything else.  With a little planning, it is not a big problem.

Good luck!

Brandy, Dr. Ungson is an excellent surgeon that I am happy to recommend to anyone considering DS in Mexico, but he doesn't do RNY to DS revisions. He does do lap band removals with revision to the DS, as well as sleeve to DS. But not from RNY. Maybe that will change some day, but not as of yet. And there is no one else in Mexico that I would trust to do this high risk operation. Dr. Marchesini in Brazil used to do them but seems to have moved away from them, and Dr. Gagner in Montreal has been known to do them but reviews about him are mixed. I have no personal experience with either of them. So the list remains short, sadly.

Larra

While I think Dr. K is the best choice of the people I have heard of you could check out the bariatric program at Cleveland Clinic. I just don't know if they have anyone with experience in these kinds of revisions. Dr. Phillip Schauer does the DS. It might be worth a couple of phone calls at any rate.

Pete

Throwing in my two cents- I had an open RNY to DS in February 2014 with Dr Rabkin and I say what everyone else here is saying: do it right and have it done by an expert. Dr K is one of the only surgeons experienced at this, and you need to have it done properly. You will be glad you traveled to have it done.