Revision From VBG to Realize Band?

Hey everybody. =) I had my surgeon's appointment today and I guess it went okay. Apparently the surgeon I went to(Dr.Nusbaum) has had 2 dozen patients revised from Dr. Capella's surgery. So he has experience with the way Dr. Capella operated, He said that Dr. Capella definetly has a special way of doing the VBG and that it is almost a 50% failure rate. So he said he has to see what the EGD Scope comes back as. But he said he'd like to be able to revise it into a RNY but doen't know if that's possible being the way Dr. Capella operated, He said the best option was the Realize Band. Has anyone ever had a revision to this? If so please let me know more about it. I have spent all my time researching the DS. Any as my surgeon said today I am not eligible for the DS. He said it would be a disaster, and it wasn't a good idea. Nutritonally speaking.  I'm just kind of confused. If anybody could help me or shine some light on the BAND, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.

I had the band, and couldn't recommend it! I am biased though, I admit, so no offence intended to bandsters it has worked for.

Your surgeon isn't qualified to do the DS. He also isn't qualified to have an opinion about it. There are very few cases where the DS has led to malnutrition, and all of those were because the patient chose to ignore their doctor's advice.

In statistical terms the band has only a 50% change of getting you to lose 50% of your excess weight. The DS has an 80% chance. It also cures diabetes and high cholesterol. So what you choose depends on what kind of gambler you are. I've never won on the lottery and went for the 'best bet' after the band failed me. Think very carefully this time, because third time revisions are very difficult. If you want more info and a flavour of what life is like after DS, come over to the DS board and you will be made very welcome.

I Agree with PekinSal on the DS....

I had the VBG as well - and I thought the overall failure rate was someplace in the 90% range. I will have to hunt up some stats on that.

I did a lot of research and chose the DS, mainly because it would leave me with the most normal digestive process. That and my girlfriends with the RNY and the band were also revising to the DS.

I was self pay in Brazil with Dr M (2 years ago), and it was a great experience. Seriously if you were to have dinner with me you'd have no clue I was a WLS person at all. I CAN EAT! HA HA HA

My mother just had her VBG revised in October and is doing really well.

Seriously I would contact someone like Dr Marchesini or Dr Anthone and explain the situation to see if it is possible for you to have the DS. This doc has a vested interest in steering you toward an operation he actually does.

Good Luck!
Elizabeth

You need to see a surgeon that can do all the surgeries.  Nusbaum isn't one.  You don't expect a Toyota salesman to sell you a Lexus do you?

Hi Starry, I don't think it's necessary to choose a surgeon that does all the surgeries.  I had my revision with a surgeon that focuses 100% on banding.   What I do suggest though is having a consult with an experienced top surgeon for each type of surgery you are interested in considering.

I had a revision from VBG/87 to a Lap-Band in /06, and have been extremely successful.  The newer Realize band I am not familiar with.