Revision to Bypass or Full DS ...Questions from Canada

Hi there,

I'm from Manitoba. I was sleeved 7 yrs ago Feb 2012 in Richmond, BC but due to my unresolved medical issues including Sleep Apnea, Hypertension. Oh, not to mention that Post surgery I developed GERD and was recently diagnosed with Severe Osteoarthritis of the spine. Now today with my weight at 275lbs, I am still not at goal(135lbs to go) and in far too great pain & discomfort. I need to consider a revision to Bypass or a Conversion to the full DS surgery.

Don't get me wrong, my sleeve has been the best to me since I was 429 lbs on my surgery day with my highest over 500lbs and barely living(my lowest at 247lbs). Yes, I have regained (30lbs so far). With my spine in such condition, I simply cannot afford the lbs. I've had enough of the excruciating pain and all the medication that I'm on. I have tried "Rebooting my Sleeve" to no avail. So it's just not enough anymore..

Out of Country/Self-Paying is out of the question.

What are my options? Is Revision even an option for me? Where do I start? Im not sure i qualify for the program in my home province since I had surgery Out-of-Province but I've heard Alberta has a Revision Program, is this true? I'm aware that Ontario does the DS Surgery but is that only for ON residents? If not, who do I contact?

Please Help me.

Thank you in advance

I'm in the US so I can't even begin to answer the questions you have specific to your insurance. Down here though, GERD is usually enough to qualify for someone for revision to bypass.

OH has a forum for those in Canada that would probably be more helpful to you at the moment. This revision board doesn't get as much traffic but you might try the Canadian specific forum.

Good luck. It sounds miserable.

edited to add link to Canada Forum.

Your journey sounds similar to mine. I was sleeved in May of 2012. Now I have osteo of the hip and desparately need a hip replacement. I've been to several doctors and most recently I was referred from one WLS surgeon to another to have the loop DS, aka SIPS/aka SADI. I am terrified. I want the Gastric Bypass but who can you trust?

Good Luck

Please read the following article so you can learn more about the DS, including that a SIPS/SADI/Loop surgery is NOT a DS. You should find a very skilled bariatric surgeon that is capable of performing the standard of care DS (2 anastomoses) and that has done many of them; therefore, you may need to travel for this surgery. The true DS has the best stats for resolution of co-morbidities, EWL%, and long term maintenance of weight loss.

What You Need to Know About Revising to Duodenal Switch (DS)