Confused bmi too high?

I spoke with a surgeon today my bmi is 58.6 he said it was too high for DS. I was under the impression from the research I've done DS was better for higher bmi. Very confused now any insights appreciated.

He or she made a mistake.

you BMI is not to high for the DS. You BMI is too high for the skill level of the surgeon you saw. He is not a good enough surgeon to do it, so he has done you a favor.

Now, find a better surgeon.

With a BMI of almost 60, you are in fact the perfect candidate for the DS. Is your surgeon trying to push the DS in two parts (VSG then the switch)? Many surgeons will recommend that option for people who they may feel are too high risk (surgery can be 5-6 hours, which is a long time to keep someone under). The DS is a complicated surgery that requires an experienced surgeon (and by experienced I mean an experienced DS surgeon). My BMI was almost 57 and my surgeon didn't blink an eye at doing the DS in one surgery.

Are there other DS surgeons available in your area?

I live in Canada so no I am having to look into Mexico for surgery as I can't afford US prices. The surgeon did suggest gastric sleeve then the DS revision. I need to do this in one shot just financially even if it means waiting until I can get down to a 54ish BMI which is what they suggested. I do understand that the surgery is more complex than RNY or sleeve just knowing myself I really feel it's the right option. I don't carry much of my weight in my tummy either so thinking that makes me a better candidate as well.

Dr Esquerra is the only doc in Mexico you want to trust.

Dr. Marchenesi in Brazil is another.

Dr. Baltazar in Spain

Hi, I m from Canada and had VSG then DS later, both my surgeries were free as we are in Canada, does your surgeon charge?

Yes I am going to Mexico rather than wait years in Canada.

While the DS works well for anyone who medically qualifies for bariatric surgery, it is especially beneficial for people with higher bmi's, as it provides the highest percentage excess weight loss AND the best maintenance of that weight loss of any available bariatric surgery. So, you were right, and the surgery is just not comfortable operating on someone with your bmi. I understand that, given your location, your options are limited, but just for comparison, Dr. Rabkin in San Francisco has done the full DS, in one operation, on patients up to 700 lbs, which you are not remotely near. Obviously this is a surgeon with tremendous DS experience, and for your bmi you don't need that level of experience, but still, this surgeon just isn't comfortable with your bmi.

If he/she is saying that if you could get your bmi down to 54, perhaps that's something you can manage? I don't know how tall you are, but at an average height of 5'6" it's 6 lbs per bmi unit, so 24 lbs would do it (sorry about not using metric for you, just to lazy to convert!). That might be quicker than saving up for Mexico. OTOH, if you'll nervous about having this surgeon operate on you at any bmi, Mexico beckons.

Larra

Thanks I am definitely going to keep my options open and get the surgery I need not what is in their comfort level.