Dr. Gagner Patients?

Hello New York! I am usually on the DS or the Ontario Boards but since I am hoping to use Dr. Gagner for my surgery I thought I would drop into the NY board to say HI and ask a question. Over the past couple of weeks I have been reading more and more posts about Dr. Gagner ONLY doing the DS in two stages now, that is, the vertical sleeve 1st and then the DS portion if needed some time later. I've heard he is doing a study on this. Has anyone had a recent consultation with Dr. G. where this was discussed? Is he still performing the full DS? As I am from Ontario, I must choose my surgeon BEFORE receiving approval from insurance for a consultation. I have corresponded with Dr. G. and nothing has been mentioned about this two stage process. I don't want to find out about this after my approval because I cannot switch surgeons without going through the whole approval process again. If anyone has any information on Dr. G.'s current protocal for DS/VSG I would appreciate hearing from you. So far all I've heard is "someone told me" - no specific information from one of his patients. Thanks for reading this long post and your help Paula B.

Paula: I am not a Dr. Gagner patient, and I do not know 'for sure' the answer to your question, BUT IF I WERE YOU, I wouldn't go on anyone's say but his office/the surgeon himself. I can not see why they couldn't provide you with this info via the phone/email? His website is: http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/ Dr. Gagner is a very well known/experienced/respected bariatric/lap SURGEON IN THE WLS community & is well published and does lots of research (this is a good thing) and has been doing 2 stage DS, but my take on that is in the Super Morbidly OBese to lessen the risk of morbidity/mortality. He was first to perform the LAP BPD/DS! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/contact.html this is contact info Our Mailing Address: The Weill Cornell Weight Loss Surgery Program New-York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center Department of Surgery 525 East 68th Street, Box 294 New York, NY 10021 Contact Us By Telephone: To make an appointment to see one of our surgeons for a consultation or speak with members of our team, please call 212-746-5294, and our receptionist will be happy to assist you. Contact Us By E-mail: If you have a question for one of our surgeons, and you would like to contact one of them directly via e-mail, they can be reached at the following addresses: Dr. Michel Gagner: [email protected] Dr. Alfons Pomp: [email protected] Dr. Gregory Dakin [email protected] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.cornellweightlosssurgery.org/wei_los_faq/sup_gro.html?name1=Support+Group&type1 =2Active Or maybe attend a DS support group!: Duodenal Switch Dates for 2006 The 3rd Wednesday of each month (Aug 16, Sept 20, Oct 18, Nov 15, Dec 20) . Time 6:15 to 8:00 PM Location Whitney Pavilion, Room 117 (enter at 68th St. Between York Ave and the East River) Moderator for October Group Deborah Vineberg Psy. D. Clinical Psychologist for the Cornell Weight Loss Surgery Program Or try his OH forum: http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/forums/?ID=TR-k83 or the DS forum!: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/ or VSG forum: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/VSG/ He also has Yahoo groups: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DrGagnerOSSG/ http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/OSSG-NYC-METRO/ Take Care, Jamie Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh 320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=c1132518510 "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"

Thanks for the info Jamie. I will be calling the office. Paula

Hi Paula, I was supposed to have a DS by Dr. Gagner on August 7, 2006, but instead he performed just the VSG. Prior to surgery he said that if I had a lot of scar tissue from previous hernia repair, and it meant keeping me under anesthesia longer than he liked, he would perform just the VSG. I later e-mailed him and emphasized that I did not want to be put at risk, but that I hoped he would be able to do the DS. It is the surgery I researched and chose for me! He just performed the VSG. Reason: I had a lot of scar tissue he had to cut through and my hernia covered the whole left side of my abdomen. Therefore, he had to go under the hernia to perform the surgery. He said he was happy to have been able to do the VSG under these cir****tances. Said I can have the 2nd stage in 12 months and that I will lose a lot with this surgery. Another patient, Carol T had her surgery a few days after me. She was told by Dr. G's partner (I forget his name) that it was a possiblility that she would have it in 2 stages also because of the enormous size of her abdomen. She got just the VSG! There is an Evelyn who posts on the DS Forum. Dr. G is her surgeon also. He told her she may have to have the DS in 2 stages ..... I can't locate the study he did. I believe Black Thorton on the DS forum has it. But according to the study, I fell into the guidelines....I'm 58 yrs old, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea...to name a few. When my dh and I spoke with Dr G in the hospital he seemed very sincere when he said he performed just the VSG for my safety. He said he would rather perform just the sleeve than risk complications and have my stay increase to 3 months in the hosp. He is such a talented, world reknowned surgeon....I don't know if he is rethinking his protocol for the DS in order to reduce complications.... I haven't 'met' through the internet anyone who has had the DS performed by him this year. Rather than clearly specifying that I wanted the DS, I regret not asking him point blank if the 2 stage is the direction his practice was going in. I had every right to know this, and so do you. This is a big decision. I remember crying in the recovery room when told by my dh and my son that I had just the sleeve. I felt like all my research was in vain. I chose the DS because of the lifestyle it would afford me. I don't know that I will be able to lose all that I need to lose; nor do I look forward to a 2nd surgery. I thought my next surgery was going to be plastics!!!! Sorry this is so long.....feel free to contact me anytime. Linda Cornell Study on DS: http://news.med.cornell.edu/wcmc/wcmc_2005/10_14_05.shtml

Thank you so much Linda. I can certainly understand how disappointed you must have been. I too would not look forward to a two step surgery. I'm 51, 5'7", 280, diabetic, sleep apnea and a history of blood clots. From everything I've read I don't think I fall into the super obese category that most doctors use the two step process on. However, if Dr. G. now has other criteria he uses or if he now prefers VSG to DS you would think he would make that very clear as opposed to having you wake up in recovery to find out you ended up with something you didn't plan on. I certainly have never read anything to indicate he is not a caring and careful surgeon so I guess we do have to trust his abilities and his opinion once he goes in. Well, I'll be chatting with him to see if I can get understanding of his protocals now. Again thanks for the info. It really helped. Paula

Hey Paula, Dr. G seems to do a higher number of DS's in 2 stages. My surgeon had given me the option of having a Lap DS in 2 stages or an open DS in 1 stage. I choose to have an open sugery...i was 472 lbs, and carried a higher portion of my weight in my stomach. Dr. G is a good surgeon from my understanding, but again it does seem that a larger number of his patients walk out of the surgery with just the VSG. Scott

Hi, Paula. I can't answer your question, but I can tell you that Dr. Gagner is great. He saved my life a few weeks ago when nobody else would help me... I had a bowel obstruction. He is very caring. Good luck! Traci