I didn't think we could do this...
I am surprized to find this page. I haven't been on the OH site for a long time.
I truly didn't think we could have ANOTHER surgery! While it seems like a great opportunity, it also seems like a cop-out! I initially lost 156 lbs after surgery 5 years ago. I crept back up and am now at 285 (from 232).
What kind of options are there for us RNY veterans? Does insurance actually pay for an additional surgery?
Right now, I am struggling with an incisional hernia I have had for 5 years. It is beginning to effect me. I am wondering if this is an avenue to a revision of some type.
Anyway, great posts... and something new to think about!
I truly didn't think we could have ANOTHER surgery! While it seems like a great opportunity, it also seems like a cop-out! I initially lost 156 lbs after surgery 5 years ago. I crept back up and am now at 285 (from 232).
What kind of options are there for us RNY veterans? Does insurance actually pay for an additional surgery?
Right now, I am struggling with an incisional hernia I have had for 5 years. It is beginning to effect me. I am wondering if this is an avenue to a revision of some type.
Anyway, great posts... and something new to think about!
Here I am too, researching a revision, from RNY to DS. You are welcome to check out my profile.
I am looking into a revision surgeon in California.
-Jamie
I am looking into a revision surgeon in California.
-Jamie
RNY 2/26/2002 DS 12/29/2011
HW 317 SW 263 BMI 45.1
SW 298 CW 192 BMI 32.9~60% EWL
LW 151 in 2003
TT 4/9/2003
Normal BMI 24.8 is my GOAL!!!
GBP (RNY) 2/26/02 298 lbs, TT 4/9/03 151 lbs, DS 12/29/11
HW 317 SW 263 BMI 45.1/CW 192 BMI 32.9/GW 145 ~ Normal BMI 24.8
**Revision Journey started 3/2009 Approved 12/12/11**
On May 19, 2009 at 1:42 PM Pacific Time, Brett wrote:
I am surprized to find this page. I haven't been on the OH site for a long time.I truly didn't think we could have ANOTHER surgery! While it seems like a great opportunity, it also seems like a cop-out! I initially lost 156 lbs after surgery 5 years ago. I crept back up and am now at 285 (from 232).
What kind of options are there for us RNY veterans? Does insurance actually pay for an additional surgery?
Right now, I am struggling with an incisional hernia I have had for 5 years. It is beginning to effect me. I am wondering if this is an avenue to a revision of some type.
Anyway, great posts... and something new to think about!
Jo -319h/202l - 240h/237sd/218.5c/190goal
Arnold H. Glasgow
Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.
Arnold H. Glasgow
Your body is the baggage you must carry through life. The more excess the baggage, the shorter the trip.
I was just like you... I had no idea a second surgery was an option.
The options for a veteran RNY? I would suggest you look closely at the Duodenal Switch. You'll find the DS forum listed first under "forums" and then "surgical forums," above.
The tricky part about a revision is finding a qualified surgeon that's got lots of revision experience. I was just revised from a VBG (an old stomach stapling done 23 years ago) to a DS. I chose my surgeon VERY carefully - I wanted someone who was not only well-versed in revisions, but also well-versed in DSs. Most of us will have to travel.
You're fortunate to be in California, where a top-notch revision surgeon practices.... Dr Rabkin.
Hop over to the DS board and start asking questions, if you haven't already.
And please don't consider it a cop-out.
best of luck!
Kathy
The options for a veteran RNY? I would suggest you look closely at the Duodenal Switch. You'll find the DS forum listed first under "forums" and then "surgical forums," above.
The tricky part about a revision is finding a qualified surgeon that's got lots of revision experience. I was just revised from a VBG (an old stomach stapling done 23 years ago) to a DS. I chose my surgeon VERY carefully - I wanted someone who was not only well-versed in revisions, but also well-versed in DSs. Most of us will have to travel.
You're fortunate to be in California, where a top-notch revision surgeon practices.... Dr Rabkin.
Hop over to the DS board and start asking questions, if you haven't already.
And please don't consider it a cop-out.
best of luck!
Kathy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you considered the Duodenal Switch? Information is power.
Have you considered the Duodenal Switch? Information is power.
Hi Randy-
I found Dr G to be extremely communicative, which was important to me, knowing I was going to have to travel for my revision. I liked him. The hospital was wonderful. I was in for 10 days ... longer than many ... and in all the nurses I encountered during that time, there was only one single nurse I wasn't happy with. The rooms are big and bright and *private* ... the post-op wing (where you'd be after you're released from ICU) has only been open for a couple of months. The Director of nursing is a well-loved man ... happy employees = happy patients. My experience with the hospital and Dr Greenbaum was wonderful.
Now... having said all that, I will tell you that the surgery kicked my BUTT.... hard. I wasn't an RNY to begin with, I was a VBG (an old stomach stapling). It was so much more difficult picking myself up after this one than it was after my original surgery. Remember, though, that my last surgery was 23 years ago, and since I'm now 47, I'm feeling pretty sure that my age had more than a little to do with how my body reacted, this time. It was a very difficult recovery, and in some ways, continues to be so, three weeks later.
I considered Dr Gagner, loving the idea of lap surgery. But he disappeared on me ... I would email a very short, four-question note to him, and it would take weeks for him to respond. And when he DID respond, he'd not answer my questions at all. I need more communication than that from the guy who is going to rearrange my insides. If he's not responding now, while he's NOT performing surgeries.... what's to make me think he'll respond to me later, when he gets his new practice up and running?
One more big difference to consider between the two: Dr Gagner will perform your revision lap, but that means you'll get his standard-length common channel. Dr Greenbaum will perform the surgery open, but he'll use the Hess method to determine your common channel length. In my case, though I'm just under 5'7", my total small intestine length was short ... only 500 cm total. If I'd had a cookie-cutter DS surgeon (like Gagner), I very well may have ended up with a common channel length that was too long for effective long-term weight loss. I would never have known that about myself had Dr Gagner performed my surgery. I just would have been terribly disappointed with my weight loss.
In retrospect, and knowing what I know, now, about my total small intestine length, I'm THANKFUL that Dr Gagner was as uncommunicative as he was. I'm very pleased with how Dr Greenbaum handled my surgery. He's known for taking on the hard cases ... those folks with so many complications that other surgeons won't consider taking them on. I liked that about him, and I'm convinced it makes him more skilled when it comes to the more "ordinary" cases, like mine.
One more plus for Dr Greenbaum: he will remove your gall bladder and appendix while he's in there... AND... maybe the biggest plus of all. Revisions are prone to leaks, post-op. The way most surgeons deal with leaks is to open you back up, staple an omentum patch over the leaky area, put in a feeding tube and sew you back up again. Dr Greenbaum takes a pro-active approach and installs the feeding tube and applies the omentum patch when he's in there during your initial surgery. So if you DO leak, he doesn't have to open you back up, again. I really, really REALLY thought that made sense.
Good luck with your decisions. I'm glad you're doing your research!
Kathy
I found Dr G to be extremely communicative, which was important to me, knowing I was going to have to travel for my revision. I liked him. The hospital was wonderful. I was in for 10 days ... longer than many ... and in all the nurses I encountered during that time, there was only one single nurse I wasn't happy with. The rooms are big and bright and *private* ... the post-op wing (where you'd be after you're released from ICU) has only been open for a couple of months. The Director of nursing is a well-loved man ... happy employees = happy patients. My experience with the hospital and Dr Greenbaum was wonderful.
Now... having said all that, I will tell you that the surgery kicked my BUTT.... hard. I wasn't an RNY to begin with, I was a VBG (an old stomach stapling). It was so much more difficult picking myself up after this one than it was after my original surgery. Remember, though, that my last surgery was 23 years ago, and since I'm now 47, I'm feeling pretty sure that my age had more than a little to do with how my body reacted, this time. It was a very difficult recovery, and in some ways, continues to be so, three weeks later.
I considered Dr Gagner, loving the idea of lap surgery. But he disappeared on me ... I would email a very short, four-question note to him, and it would take weeks for him to respond. And when he DID respond, he'd not answer my questions at all. I need more communication than that from the guy who is going to rearrange my insides. If he's not responding now, while he's NOT performing surgeries.... what's to make me think he'll respond to me later, when he gets his new practice up and running?
One more big difference to consider between the two: Dr Gagner will perform your revision lap, but that means you'll get his standard-length common channel. Dr Greenbaum will perform the surgery open, but he'll use the Hess method to determine your common channel length. In my case, though I'm just under 5'7", my total small intestine length was short ... only 500 cm total. If I'd had a cookie-cutter DS surgeon (like Gagner), I very well may have ended up with a common channel length that was too long for effective long-term weight loss. I would never have known that about myself had Dr Gagner performed my surgery. I just would have been terribly disappointed with my weight loss.
In retrospect, and knowing what I know, now, about my total small intestine length, I'm THANKFUL that Dr Gagner was as uncommunicative as he was. I'm very pleased with how Dr Greenbaum handled my surgery. He's known for taking on the hard cases ... those folks with so many complications that other surgeons won't consider taking them on. I liked that about him, and I'm convinced it makes him more skilled when it comes to the more "ordinary" cases, like mine.
One more plus for Dr Greenbaum: he will remove your gall bladder and appendix while he's in there... AND... maybe the biggest plus of all. Revisions are prone to leaks, post-op. The way most surgeons deal with leaks is to open you back up, staple an omentum patch over the leaky area, put in a feeding tube and sew you back up again. Dr Greenbaum takes a pro-active approach and installs the feeding tube and applies the omentum patch when he's in there during your initial surgery. So if you DO leak, he doesn't have to open you back up, again. I really, really REALLY thought that made sense.
Good luck with your decisions. I'm glad you're doing your research!
Kathy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you considered the Duodenal Switch? Information is power.
Have you considered the Duodenal Switch? Information is power.
I don't want to convince you of anything, Randy.
:)
There are definite and obvious advantages to lap surgery, and Gagner is The Guy for lap surgery. I know that Greenbaum was the right choice for me, but I also know of a few people who are willing to wait for Gagner in order to avoid the open surgery that most revision surgeons perform.
There's lots to consider, for sure. My story is just that... my story. I hope you have an opportunity to get the story on some Gagner revisions, too. Have you posted on the DS board? I'd suggest you do that ... you need to hear from both sides of the fence before you make your final decision.
-Kathy
:)
There are definite and obvious advantages to lap surgery, and Gagner is The Guy for lap surgery. I know that Greenbaum was the right choice for me, but I also know of a few people who are willing to wait for Gagner in order to avoid the open surgery that most revision surgeons perform.
There's lots to consider, for sure. My story is just that... my story. I hope you have an opportunity to get the story on some Gagner revisions, too. Have you posted on the DS board? I'd suggest you do that ... you need to hear from both sides of the fence before you make your final decision.
-Kathy
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you considered the Duodenal Switch? Information is power.
Have you considered the Duodenal Switch? Information is power.
Hi Kathy,
My goodness....it really sounds like you have been thru the wringer.....I am so glad that you seem to be doing okay now and that you seemed to have chosen the right doctor..!!!!
You said that you had your original surgery in 1987 and it was a stomach stapling or a VBG....
I had my original surgery in 1984....it was called a stomach stapling or a RNY....Wetzel Gastrostomy.
Do you think that they were the same surgeries?
I am in the position of researching a revision also.....and am really curious as to what I am up against....and what my options may be.
Sounds pretty scary......
Why do you think that you have gained your weight back?
Thank you in advance.....
Marcia
My goodness....it really sounds like you have been thru the wringer.....I am so glad that you seem to be doing okay now and that you seemed to have chosen the right doctor..!!!!
You said that you had your original surgery in 1987 and it was a stomach stapling or a VBG....
I had my original surgery in 1984....it was called a stomach stapling or a RNY....Wetzel Gastrostomy.
Do you think that they were the same surgeries?
I am in the position of researching a revision also.....and am really curious as to what I am up against....and what my options may be.
Sounds pretty scary......
Why do you think that you have gained your weight back?
Thank you in advance.....
Marcia
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