Just had Surgery Done..mixed feelings..please help

Damn!  I am so sorry this happened to you! 

I would have 'lawyered up' in the hospital.  My second surgery choice was NONE.

I have had numerous open abdominal surgeries from top to bottom.  My Dr. was STILL able to undo my stapled stomach and give me a full DS.  I did have a lot of adhesions and it took him 6 1/2 hours rather than his usual 1 1/2 hours to do the surgery.

I am serious, if I woke up with a different surgery, I would be more than angry.  If he was unable to perform the surgery you wanted, he should have closed you up and let YOU decide what to do.  Good grief.

I hope you get resolution!

Michele

Actually in all the text books and fact printing out there, the DS has NEVER been referred to as the platinum of weight loss surgery....you only hear that from SOME DS patients...

RNY is the ONLY GOLD STANDARD OF WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY!

Ok, with that being clear & out in the open...don't settle on something you don't want..you will never be happy!

Dawn

I don't think you really understand the meaning of the term "gold standard".

It was originally only an economic term, and comes from gold being a precious metal, yet available in a sufficient amount to serve as money. This does not mean,  nor has it ever meant, that gold is the MOST valuable thing out there. Many, many things are rarer and more valuable.

On that basis, I must agree that the RNY is the "gold standard" of WLS. (*grin*)

I need to jump in here...did you and your doctor discuss this possiblity prior to your surgery...did he have you sign a consent form saying that after he was in, and he felt a DS was not safe that you would agree to a RNY..did you know all this before you went in..you understood it was a possibility?

I know you had your heart sent on the DS...but don't frett over the RNY...you can make it work for you also. 

The DS is a FABULOUS surgery...but the RNY is also a FABULOUS surgery.

Chilipeper;

I do not remember signing anything and we did not discuss this.

I think you are right..I am determined to make this work..

My husband just left for work and told me to get over it and realize that I have it better than most people and to work with what I got done.

First off I would be seething mad.  As long as I have been on the DS board I have never -- let me repeat -- NEVER seen someone post who had a DS with this surgeon.  You were sold a bill of goods and I seriously doubt this surgeon ever intended to give you the DS.  I would be talking to an attorney.  I proceed post haste to the nearest REAL DS surgeon for a revision and sue this joker to make him pay for it.

I would not go peacefully.  It would be one thing if this guy was a real and vetted DS surgeon -- but he is not and that is what makes this situation so sad.  If a vetted DS surgeon had said the surgery had to go in a different direction that would be another thing entirely.

Red

I had my procedure on 11/23 and am losing weight for the first time in just about my entire life.  I had originally wanted to get a gastric sleeve.  Was just set on it, had researched it, was ready for it.  But a couple of weeks before my surgery, the doc decided I had too many contraindications.  So RNY was my best option.  It took me a while to wrap my head around the concept and sometimes I still wonder - what if.  But, it is what it is.  And what it is, to me, is an opportunity to finally get healthy.  Don't let that scale get you down.  Follow the doctor's orders as far as diet and fluid intake and keep at it!  And hang out here - lots of good encouragement here!

Cal Culator,

First of all, whether the doctor was wrong will depend on several different things, one of them being what the LEGAL DOCUMENT says.  I believe this may have been covered by the consent form. 

Second, do I want a Lap Band, NO.  But I have enough confidence in my dr. that if he opened me up and determined he could not perform the RNY and it was either a Lap Band or nothing, it would be a no-brainer for me--I would take the Lap Band even though it was not my surgery of choice.

Third, I was only attempting to offer words of support in/for a difficult situation, rather than pouring salt into an open wound.

For all of those people who are suggesting suing, I doubt if the dr. breached the standard of care for this type of procedure.  And even if he did, how are you going to get another professional (doctor) to put that in writing and come to court to testify?  Not in my state.  What are the patients damages?  It's going to be a little difficult to sit on the witness stand and sue the doctor for malpractice when you are 120 lbs lighter than when your journey started. 

This situation will require a calm head.  If Califoriamom2 burns the bridge with this doctor, others might be reluctant to treat her.  Once other doctors see that litigation is involved, they might treat her like the plague.  Many of these doctors will not treat other surgeons patients after the surgery has occurred.

My training qualifies me to look at this issue from multiple perspectives.  30 years as a lawyer gives me the legal perspective (although I am not a med mal lawyer).  25 years as an ordained minister has enabled me to count every blessing that comes my way, even if it was not what I expected or wanted.  It's all in how you look at life.

I wish Californiamom2 the best. 

if you have cancer, you choose if you want surgery or chemo or whatever.  they don't tell you you're getting chemo and then lop off your breast instead(hey, it might've made you healthier too, right?).  this was not an emergency where an on-the-spot decision was necessary.  if she wanted to sue, she'd have a case.

Mdae,

You are mixing apples and oranges.  You can sue anyone you want.  The question is can you win?