DS w/o sleeve

Hello darksiders,

I am in the process of getting approval for band removal. My esophagus is messed up and my surgeon recommended  RNY. I pushed back on it and he said that we can do the DS without getting a sleeve. I've been trying to research it to no avail. Can someone direct me to this much needed info? Thanks!

I don't know how much info you'll find online, this seems to be a unique approach. I do know that European and surgeons do the DS without sleeve to address Type II diabetes in people that are not overweight. Dr Balistar in Spain (spelling may be off) is one that talked about it. This info is pretty old and I'm going off memory. He may have published information online. Good luck!

--gina 

This is the diabetes surgery for people who are not overweight.  My H had this done in Spain back in 2004.

The CC is usually very short, like 50cm.  The first doc to publish on this was named Noyes.  I bet you can find it if you look or Dina Mcbride may have it too.  Here's the gist of it, people tended to lose about 30kg and then gain it back over the next 2 years.  Then they stabilized at about their preop weight.  Pretty discouraging.  But the surgery did what it was supposed to do...  They were not diabetic anymore.

For my H it was the best of both worlds.  No more diabetes and he ate like a horse.  He had no problems controlling his weight at all.  He also had no real issues with labs either!

This may work for you if your doc will do the short CC.  I would rather have this than a RNY any day.

Your surgeon is probably recommending gastric bypass because that's what he knows how to do. If you want a DS, you need to consult with a surgeon who does the DS. One of the great features of the DS is that, to some extent, it can be customized for the individual needs of the patient. For example, in your case, you could have a slightly wider sleeve than someone whose esophagus hasn't been messed up, and have the "switch" part just like anyone else with a DS. And frankly, I don't see how gastric bypass would be helpful for a "messed up" esophagus anyway. When it works properly, the gastric bypass pouch holds just a tiny amount, fills up fast and stays full. If you eat more, the food will just back up into your esophagus, just like it's probably been doing with your lap band, which is how your esophagus got messed up.

 Most DS surgeons have a lot of experience removing lap bands and revising to the DS because so many patients have dismal results, or outright complications, from lap band. Lap band has the highest failure rate and highest reoperation rate of any bariatric surgery, so you are not alone. At the very least, consult with a surgeon who does the DS and get a second opinion before you do anything that can't be undone (well, gastric bypass can be undone, but it's so difficult and risky that it isn't undone very often, so most people who get it are stuck with it for life).

I hope people who might be considering lap band because "it's reverseable" will see your story. As someone wiser than I put it, it's removable but not always reverseable.

Larra

Thanks everyone.  There are so many more like me out there. My original and revision surgeon is Dr. Vivek Prachand.  He is most definitely a DS surgeon.  He initially recommended the DS for me way back when.  I chickened out. I used to lurk on this board back during the surgery wars. Think twice, cut once. I'll yell it from the rooftop.

Dr. Prachand definitely does do the DS, but from what I've heard he discourages it for people with bmi below 50. If you know what you want, stick to your guns.

Larra

He learned that about me a long time ago. I weigh 20 pounds more than I did preop. Sad to say my bmi is probably closer to 60.