RNY to LAP BAND with Dr. Scott at Depaul

I am looking in to the revision surgery with Dr. Scott and would like to have some opinions about him and hospital.  I am most interested in how long the process took from your initial appointment to surgery date.  thanks!

Why would you go from a RNY to a lapband? I have a lapband and it was the worst thing I ever did. I have had so many problems from it. Check out the DS surgery. It has the best long term results. I was gong to get the RNY from my band and then realized the long term success rate is not as good as the DS. Someone from the DS board told me to check it out and I am so glad they did. Check out dsfacts.com for more info
Gina

Thanks for the suggestion about the DS.  Before exploring that option, I can tell you that I have several reasons for chosing the band after the RNY.  My RNY was 6 years ago and I only lost about 80 pounds.  I have now gained back about 35, despite continuing the diet and exercise regimen I have always been on.  I have no doubt that my pouch is stretched over time therefore I'm able to consume more food.  I'm not saying that I have been absolutely perfect on my diet but I have been diligent about it.  I can also tell you that if the DS leaves you feeling anything at all like the RNY made me feel, I ABSOLUTELY NEVER WANT TO FEEL THAT WAY AGAIN!  The vomiting several times daily, the weakness from being malnourished, the misery from not feeling like I could even go anywhere with my family because the smell of food made me sick to my stomach, etc.....  I wouldn't curse the way I felt after my RNY on my worst enemy!  Anyway, I'm not looking for a quick weight loss that the bypass surgerys give, I would rather use something that is slow and steady.  Besides, I have to go with the least  complicated method.  I will look into the DS though.  Thanks again for the suggestion.

 
The band really isn't very effective.  What you just wrote about being malnourished, puking, etc, that was my experience with the band.  I don't think I have ever been more ill than I was with a band.

They really do not work well in bypass folks because you guys are already metabolically challenged from having bypass.  If they don't work well on a virgin stomach, you can imagine that they don't work well on a bypass pouch.

Everything you write here makes me feel the DS would be a good choice for you. I'm willing to bet you're metabolically challenged, since you only lost 80 pounds with the mildly-malabsorptive RNY, AND you gained 35 of it back. That's a pretty good sign that restriction alone isn't going to give you the results you want.

Also, the issues you're having with living with your RNY? Changing to the Band isn't likely to cure them. Once again, you'd be dealing with a stoma, just an adjustile one. And MOST of the time when they 'revise' an RNYer to a Band, what they actually do is just place a Band around the alreay-existing stoma/pouch combo, rather than take your RNY completely down and give you back a normal' stomach.

With a true RNY-to-DS revision, they WOULD give you back a 'normal' stomach, just a much smaller one, complete with the pyrlous. This should stop your vomiting, food intolerances, etc.

I have had 4 surgeries thru the Weight Loss Institute at Depaul and I would highly recommend them.  I had my first lapband surgery done in Sept 06 by Dr de La Torre, who is no longer there.  Had emergency surgery in Sept 08 by Dr. Scott to have the band removed due to a severe slip.  I couldnt get the band replaced at that time due to really bad swellling in my stomach.  Had 2nd band placed by Dr. Scott in May 09.  I really wanted the sleeve, but at the time my insurance wasnt covering the sleeve.  I had another slip with the second band in March 10.  I had my revision from the band to the sleeve (my insurance now covers the sleeve) in Aug 2010 by Dr. Morales and Dr. Scott.  They do all their revisions togetner.  I have nothing but good things to say about both of them.  I saw Dr. Morales for all of my folluwup visits after my revision, because he had been the Dr. I had been seeing for my lapband fills and issues with the band.  

Dr Scott is a really great and experienced surgeon.  You are making a good choice if you go to him.  He doesnt say a whole lot.  Dr. Morales is very personable and is great about answering any questions you may have and never seems rushed. 

Everyone I have dealt with at Depaul has been extremely nice.  The Weight Loss Institute staff is great and very helpful with any questions you may have. 

As far as the timeline, it depends on what your insurance company requires and how long they take to approve if you are going thru insurance.  I think for my first surgery, I started the process in May of 06 and had surgery in Sept.  I could have done it in August, but wanted a specific week in September.  Once your insurance approves, they will call you and schedule you for the next available preop class.  This is an all day class from 8am 530 pm.  They give you a  lot of info, you get final surgery approval from the doctor and you get all your preop testing done that day.  EKG, chest xray, pulmonary function test, and labwork.  You will get your surgery date that day.  It can be anywhere from a week to a month or more from then, depending on how busy they are.  And in your case, since its a revision, they only do revisions on Wednesday, since that is the day Dr. Scott and Dr. Morales operate together.

If you have any other questions I can help with, feel free to pm me.

Sherry

Sherry,
Thanks so much for the information.  I really appreciate the hearing from previous patients with both good and bad results.  I feel like the more information I gather, the better off I will be when it comes to decision time.  Thanks again.

Hi Heather, Like Sherry my experience with Dr. Scott, Dr. Morales, and when Dr. De la Torre, and Depaul was great and has been since I had my first surgery which was the lapband in 2008.

I had a band slip due to vomitting so much during my pregnancy. I also didnt experience good wieghtloss by having my band. Everything that Sherry said about the two doc's are the same things I would say. Dr. Scott is coming out of his shell more and more though. LOL. I think they are great.

I live in IL...Where are you from? I'll send you a friend request if you dont mind. I'll send you one too Sherry,

Talk to you guys soon,

Jo

Hi Jo

Got your friend request.  Keep in touch and let me know how you are doing.  I always like talk to other people in the  area who have had WLS.

Sherry

I have a band over bypass and I am happy with it. The research supports it. Look at some of my older posts to see it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but the revision board tends to be anti BOB to an extreme.