Newbie question for the guys: RYN vs. DS..What's the difference?

I told you everyone loves their surgery....and that the discussion can cause a fist fight over which is best Russ

Great Information! - Thank you! - Patrick

Heh heh.  This is NOTHING compared to the hornets nest I kicked up over at the RNY board ("Why did you choose RNY over other surgeries" post). But hey, they're women.  Should I have expected any less?

This might not matter to you since you're from Canada. And if you're self-pay, it's also not an issue. But one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that of the insurance companies that will cover bariatric surgery, the majority of them exclude DS. There are exceptions of course, but this could be a factor for some people.

Actually, he probably has OHIP which would allow him to get either the RNY or the DS both in country and out of country.   Canada is severely backlogged with bariatric surgery cases, and you can be on the list for 3 or 4 years before you will be seen.  So they have started to pay for out of country surgeries.  Lots of DSers are from canada.....they cross the boarder to have surgery here in the US.  As far as insurances not paying for the DS...again just for information, many insurance companies now pay for the DS.  In 2006, Medicare approved the DS, as one of 3 approved WLS.   After that most insurance companies started to change their policies to remove the DS from their books as "investigational", and pay for it outright.  Then, thanks to some of the fierce women of the DS forum on OH, who have fought with their insurance companies and won...both through external appeals (like in California), and through law suits such as Lea Ann Johnson Vs BC/BS of AL, some insurance companies have been forced to change their policies to include the DS.   So it is possible....you lucky people in California have a great external appeal process....and it's almost impossible for an insurance company to not pay for the DS, if they cover WLS in Cal. NY unfortunately has no external appeal process...so if an insurance company refuses to look at an appeal seriously...your kinda out of luck unless you want to pay for a lawyer. Scott

Lola from the DS forum posted this...I thought it would be helpful. From listening to arguments between the RNY and DS forum for the last 2 years this seems to be pretty accurate.  I think Lola hit the nail on the head...one reason sometimes different surgery types don't get along is that they picked their surgery type for different reasons. Scott It never ceases to amaze me that one persons reason for getting a particular surgery, is another persons reason to NOT get that surgery. RNY - I got the surgery so I'd dump and the fear of that would keep me away from sugar. DS - I got the surgery so that I wouldn't dump. RNY - I needed the restriction to correct my relationship with food. DS - I didn't want the restriction because I want to enjoy my relationship with food. RNY - I wanted/needed to change my eating habits. DS - I've dieted my whole life -- I want to quit dieting. RNY - I'm sick of dieting and failing. DS - I'm sick of dieting and failing. RNY - I want a tool that I can work. DS - I want a surgery that does the work. RNY - I didn't want to be able to cheat the surgery. DS - I want to be able to 'cheat' from time to time. RNY - I want to be healthy. DS - I want to be healthy. RNY - I didn't want someone cutting off my stomach. DS - I don't want a blind stomach. RNY - I don't want to have to eat massive amounts of food. DS - I want to be able to eat what I want. RNY - I needed to change my habits. DS - I've been trying to change my habits my whole life! RNY - I never want to eat sugar or fat again! DS - I don't want sugar and fat to be 'off-limits'. The best choice is an informed choice