My ROSE Experience

My doctor attempted to perform the ROSE procedure for me on 7/17/09.  Even after doing a pre-op EGD to ensure that I was a "good" candidate for the procedure it didn't workout as we hoped.  

The doctor was unable to perform the procedure because he could not "get a good grab" after over 1 hour of trying.

It was very disappointing to wake up from surgery and learn that the procedure was unsuccessful.  Thankfully my surgeon refunded 100% of the procedure.

I am happy to report that I successfully had the lapband procedure done on 7/30.  Still, I have now had two surgeries in the last two weeks and have had to recover from both.  Even though the ROSE was unsuccessful I still had a fair amount of discomfort, I am guessing from the unsuccessful grabs.  It took me about 3 days to be rid of the stomach cramps and general uncomfortable and nauseous feeling.

When I was in recovery for my lapband and talking to the nurse she told me that what happened to me with the ROSE happens a lot.  I believe, based on my experience, that the procedure is still very new and is far from perfected. 

I believe everything happens for a reason and the ROSE was not God's plan for me.  I was very skeptical through the entire process, never had a warm and fuzzy feeling about it, and that should have been my first clue.  My husband was very optimistic about it and that is probably why I went through with it - because of his support. 

All that said, with the lack of statistics and possibility of going into surgery and the associated risk for what could be totally unsuccessful  I urge anyone considering the ROSE to seriously consider all options before going with this procedure.

Wow,

I can't believe that you went through both procedures, or attempts within two weeks of each other I can imagine your recovery.

I feel like I have to be on guard at all times now since I had the lap band and didn't do well and now revised to RNY only to see people revising from that too!  Let's hope we all only have to deal with just one revision in our futures!!  Take care Nancy.

I feel the same way going from RNY to Lap and hearing Laps go to RNY.  I think all we can do is make the best use of the current tool, believe in your ability to be successful!!  Good luck to you!

Wow you are SO brave going through those 2 surgeries so close together...and I totally understand your sense of urgency to get the 2nd one done ASAP.  I too was going to have the ROSE procedure done but like you, I never ever had that warm fuzzy feeling either.  It was my skepticism (and extensive research thereafter) that led me to change my procedure to the B.O.B (band-over-bypass).  I had mine done on 5/29/09 and am doing great so far (26 lbs lost; 4 fills; 3.1 ccs total in my 10 cc band).

You are my new BOB friend. :)  Let's keep it touch.

P.S.  I am SO glad you got a 100% refund.  YAY to that. 

 I am sorry to hear about your problems with the ROSE procedure.  You should not blame it on the ROSE procedure but on your surgeon who probably had minimal experience performing this advanced endoscopic procedure.  My surgeon Dr. Shawn Garber who has one of the largest experiences with the ROSE procedure in the US performed my ROSE procedure with great success in only 30 minutes.  It is important to research your surgeon and their experience prior to undergoing a procedure and not being a guinea pig.

I resent you implying that I didn't do my research or that I was a guinea pig.  My post didn't place blame on the procedure or the surgeon, it simply explained my experience.

You are making an assumption about my surgeons experience and subsequently placing blame.  I just gave an honest dipiction of my experience. 

Tipper , the same thing happened to me last summer. I woke up in recovery and the nurses were not aware that the surgeons' attempts at the ROSE had failed. My sister walked in and said that she was surprised that I was taking it so well...I was like "WHAT???"  It was very disappointing ,especially since I felt like I was rushed into gallbladder surgery before they would allow me to do the ROSE procedure. So, like you I had 2 procedures in 2 weeks time . I might not have had the gallbladder removal until I had tried other measures but now we will never know. Like you, I also had symptoms afterward. I woke up feeling like I had a concrete block on my chest and they did an EKG to make sure I was okay. It is thought that I was suffering from esophageal spasms. It lasted for a few weeks and felt like what I suspect angina might feel like.
The whole ROSE experience was really hard on my psyche but I agree we might be better off that we were spared further disappointment because from what I hear the results have not been that great.
Good luck to you! I am still fighting the same 20 lbs that I was last year. It sure isn't going very fast.....it feels like they will never come off.
Donna

Why are Dr. Garber's patients always so rude and pushing soooo hard for everyone to go to him?   I know CoachRoz pushes him non stop and had some posts removed by OH staff as well for similar behaviors.

Can't he just buy an ad?  They are available by contacting OH.

You are making big assumptions about the OPs surgeon and her research.  You don't even know who her surgeon is.  ROSE does not have great stats.

"Can't he just buy an ad?  They are available by contacting OH..."

F'ing ROTFLMAO!!

Well DAMN!  Some doctors do enough surgeries that they can afford to advertise and some do enough surgeries that they can afford to pay a person minimum wage to post on their behalf.

Gahhhhh.,....