revision to ds or erny

Hi  i am looking to have a revision ,I had rny in 2001,never reached goal weight.any advice? and anyone recommened a surgeon in the new york city area.     Thanks.

Hello Dana:

I just had Revision to ERNY and honestly I'm doing well have lost 30 lbs now since May 20th do I wish the weight loss was faster, you bet...

My recommendation to you is first have you had the endoscope test to see if you pouch and or stoma are stretched? If they are either or are both stretched...I strongly advise the DS Revision...if not and you still have restriction, I strongly advise the ERNY because after surgery I have a very stretched stoma and I have no restriction and if I would have had the DS then I believe I would have lost more and faster...major trauma after DS Revision leaves you with the difficulty of eating for a longer period of time...although once you heal you will actually be able to eat more than with the RNY.

I believe there is a lot of good Dr.'s in New York I'm sure you will get a lot of feedback here.

Janie

I was scheduled to have an upper GI is that the same test an an endoscope,also the nurse practioner is against having the DS,she says it is for patients who are 500lbs and up.my former surgeon is no longer in pratice,so i went for a follw up to check my vitamin levels.and she said to go for the revision,but not to DS.   thanks dana

Yikes, that is terrible information, and I'd be leery of going someplace that is that misinformed. The DS requirements are the same as those for other WLSs, and is performed on relatively "lightweights" all the time. There are many who post regularly on the DS board.

I would go to an office where they are capable of performing ( and actually DO perform all the surgeries) for accurate information. I'd also be leery of getting a surgery that combines the worst of the RNY with the worst of the DS (malabsorbtion with both the intestines and pouch issues).

I think one  of the top revision surgeons is currently moving back to NY, but I'm not sure what the details are.

Dana:

I hate to say anything that might discredit your nurse practitioner, but sounds like to me she doesn't know all the differences in the two revisions, you really should see a Surgeon who specializes in revisions because there is a huge difference Surgeon to Surgeon...

Again, like I said before, it makes a big difference as to what procedure to choose dependent upon how much weight you want to lose, how fast, whether you mind having open surgery or not and I can tell you for an absolute fact that DS is not a surgery for patients 500 lbs or more...There is a guy on this site his name is Kerry Johnson who had a RNY revision to DS back in September of 08 he only had about 80+ lbs to lose....and he went to one of the best surgeons in the US Dr. Rabkin...you should really think long and hard about your choices and go on the DS board and pose this question there you will hear from many who swear by it and by no means had even close to 500 lbs to lose...

Now as far as the ERNY goes...I'm a huge fan of it as well...and I believe you will hear from several who have had it before long...You have choices, it's not always best to just listen to one Dr.'s office, I would get several opinions...Most specialists in Revisions even give free consultations and seminars.

And no, Endoscopy is not the same as upper GI and both of those tests gives different information...

Janie

Hi,

What is the ERNY?  And what do you mean by "major trauma after DS Revision ..."?  l had the RNY in 2006 and am planning on getting the DS revision next year.

Thanks,
Cherri

Hi Cherri:

What I mean by "Major Trauma" is...after the pouch from the RNY is taken down...assuming it can be, because sometimes it can't...they then transect and take away a portion of the stomach...this leaves a person with some major healing...such as nausea, swelling different for everyone and it takes several weeks to be able to eat normally again, much longer than if one was to just have an ERNY....with ERNY there is no stomach problems because the stomach is not touched...that's all I meant by it...

Their a pro's and con's with both surgeries....if I could have, I would have gone to Kentucky and had the RNY to DS with Dr. John Husted...but insurance issues, travel all played into the scenario...So I went forward with an ERNY back on May 20th 2009 and I'm glad I did...To date I have lost 30 lbs and there are issues with gas, bloating, oil slicks but nothing that can't be controlled or lived with....I understand DS'ers have some of the same problems.

Good luck to you in whatever you choose.

Janie