Has anyone with a failed gastric bypass had...

revision surgery with Dr. William Graber in NY?

If so please tell me about it.  What kind of revision what has been your success was it your experience and opinion overall on all of it.  I would like to hear the good, the great the bad and the ugly if there is any.

So far I really like this guy he e-mailed me back not once but twice and the second time was after 11:00 at night.

Been having a hell of a time finding a surgeon to do revision in upstate NY. 

Thanks so much for the input.

Was your original surgery an RNY?  What do you plan on revising to?  (Are you going to revise your RNY or revise to another type of surgery?)  I did not see anything in your profile.

-Jamie

I have not decided what kind of revision that is part of this whole process of my investigating. My original surgery was an RNY

OK, thanks for the response.... 
I have not had revision surgery just yet.  I have decided to have a revision, only after MUCH thinking on the subject, and soul searching, and dieting!!!

-Jamie

what kind of revision have you decided on?  Do you have a date? 

I have decided on having the DS.  I do not have a date yte.  I am in the last part of the process of doing the work-up, before I can submit into insurance.

-Jamie

I don't know about Dr. Graber, but here's a link to a list of reputable DS surgeons in North America, there are a number of well respected surgeons in NY and NJ. Dr. Greenbaum in NJ has even published a number of papers on different WLS procedures.

http://www.dsfacts.com/North-American-Duodenal-Switch-Surgeons.html

You're going to need a very experienced surgeon to get a revision that will really work well for you. I had Gastric Bypass / RNY in 1980 and I know well of what you speak. You can read all the details of my RNY problems and revision to DS on my profile if you want the details.

The long and short of it is; RNY works pretty well to get the weight off, but is really not that great for long term success. It also sucks for quality of life as far as how you're able to eat post op; which I'm sure you are well aware. The DS has much better stats and IMO gives a much better quality of life post surgery. I got the revision last September and am very pleased with the results; I've lost 85 pounds and have about 15 to go; and I really like how I can eat now as compared with the bypass. Night & Day as far as I'm concerned.

Getting a revision is a big deal, you do not want to have another failure. Research all your options, not just what your doctor or some surgeon wants to sell you. Look at the long term stats of how successful each WLS is; look at how you will need to eat and supplement to be healthy with each WLS. Once you know, I repeat KNOW which WLS revision you want and will work for you, then find the best surgeon for that type of revision.

When I decided to do something and started looking into getting a revision, I hadn't done any research and had no clue what was even available. It took me a few months to really find out about all the options; (there are way too many sales pitches out there) but once I started reading up on the different options, it became crystal clear to me, that I wanted and would not settle for anything but a revision to DS. Once I realized that, I started looking for the best surgeon to get a revision to DS and to my surprise some surgeons I spoke to actually tried to sell me on something else; it was unreal. Some were hesitant to commit to a full DS on me because of the old RNY fearing there would be too many adhesion's and too much scar tissue. When I spoke to Dr Rabkin, I knew he was my man, he had very good answers to all my questions and was very straightforward in his approach. As it turned out, I chose very wisely, I was on the OR table for 8 1/2 hours while Dr. Rabkin fought his way through all the adhesion's and scar tissue. A less committed or less skilled surgeon would have given up and done something else. Thank you Dr. Rabkin! 

I'm really loving my DS, it's given me a life I never dreamed possible; it's more than I had hoped for.

Anyway, please do your due diligence and really look into all your options, don't just settle for the next surgeon who will take your case. You need to be your own strongest advocate and know what you want for your life.

Best regards,

Kerry 

Thank you so much for the information!  You are very knowlegeable about the subject...you gave some great information and words of wisdom.  I appreciate it...I am actually thinking about a revision but I wanted to research all the information first.  Again, thanks for your post it was helpfu!

Kerry,

I love your story. It really gives me hope and makes me feel like I'm not a failure at this. I wish I had the insurance to go through with my revision to Duodenal Switch. I've already been to Dr. Husted's seminar and he is great.

Katrina

 Dr. Graber revised a 19 year old VBG to an RNY for me in spring of last year. I lost about 20 lbs in the first ten days and that was it. I will be meeting with him next month to discuss options. I gotta tell you I think he is a good surgeon and I like the way he listens and does get back to you. While I am not saying the guy is all warm and fuzzy  with little furry kitten feeelings, he OBVIOUSLY cares about his patients and you are not just a number a number to him. . Without question I would recommend him.

I would really like to hear which revision surgery you will have with him. Please post