ATTN: Dr. Hugh Houston (of Centennial)'s Patients

Hello everyone!

I go for my consultation with Dr. Houston on April 13th and I'm starting to get a tad bit nervous. I'm beginning to feel like maybe I'm not educated enough to know which surgery is right for me. I had plans of coming up with a pros & cons list of every surgery to take with me to the consultation but I'm having difficulty. I'm worried that some of my reasons aren't good reasons. For instance, the RNY and the Lap Band don't appeal to me anymore because I have read about too many people on here that have had problems with those surgeries. With the band slipping or eroding their stomachs and I've seen lots of profiles of RNY patients that had a revision. And I don't like that. But I don't know. Maybe I'm not getting the right information.  I'm just worried that Dr. Houston will think I haven't educated myself enough to be ready for WLS. Because, is "I saw too many people online with problems from this surgery." really a good enough reason for a surgeon? Don't they usually want the facts? I don't know. Anyway, my real reason for writing this entry is because I'm curious to know what Dr. Houston expects of his patients when they come for a consultation. Does he expect them to come armed with knowledge? Does he expect them to come knowing what they want? Because honestly, I just don't know what I want anymore.

As always, any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

Dr. Houston responds to well reasoned and thought out questions.  He also listens to why you may prefer one surgery over another.  Just my preference, but no way did I want a band so that wasn't even an option for discussion.  He will take the time to answer any questions you have about either surgery.  I don't imagine any surgeon likes a totally uninformed patient, but that isn't the case with you.  Spend a little time on the boards for the lapband and RNY and make your list of questions.  Check out surgery sites for more factual data and make your list of pros and cons.  You've got a few days before the 13th and it's not like you have to be 100% sure of anything.  That's why it's a consult.  You may want to take some time to think about what he tells you and do some more research then make another appointment.  He'll be OK with that.  Just be honest with him.  Like many docs, he's got a real good BS detector.  Honest confusion is better than blustering BS.  Unlike many docs, he really takes his time to listen and teach.

Dr. Houston is a great surgeon, and an easy person to talk to. I  LOVE him to death. Now depending on your bmi, he will discuss with you the different surgeries. Yes, he wants people to be totally informed on the DS surgery. This surgery has different long term aftercare. I believe if your bmi is pretty high he will go toward RNY. He won't do the DS unless you have researched it and know all about the malabsorbtion. Vitamins are a must the rest of your life. It's a great surgery, I was under my goal in 91/2 mths.
He will help you and he will discuss both of the surgeries with you.
You will LOVE the whole staff. They are great. Let me know what you decide. I'm really excited for you, and your decision to have WLS.

I would advise you to google each surgery, read all you can on the different types, peruse the different forums by surgery type here on Obesity Help, ask questions....  when you meet with him, you should have an idea of what complications can arise from each, and pretty much once you start doing the research, I think a lightbulb moment usually occurs for each person of which procedure they want.  He will go over each with you, and while he won't tell you "THIS is the one you need", he will give recommendations,.  If he doesn't give a recommendation, ask him which type.  He will tell you.

I thought I wanted lap band when I went to the seminar, but I changed my mind when I learned about the vertical sleeve. My best friend had a DS with Dr. Houston and she is very happy. He went over all the surgeries and told me what options he thought were best for me. There is a good comparison chart of all 4 surgeries on theworldaccordingtoeggface.com
Good Luck!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and tips. I really appreciate it. And if anyone has any more website suggestions (such as your favorite website to get information or something like that) please don't hesitate to share!  I need all the help I can get.

Dr. Houston is great. He was very open and pleasant at my consult. I went in armed for bear to argue with him about getting the DS. While it wasn't at all an argument, he said he wouldn't do it had I been less well-informed. If you're leaning toward the DS, read the DS board and gather all the info you can from dsfacts.com and duodenalswitch.com and above all, ask questions. Ditto for the other procedures. Good luck!

 "Because honestly, I just don't know what I want anymore. "

That's the statement you should start with. I'm assuming you've been to the intro session where they give you the book? If not, you should do that.

I originally wanted the lap band, but I was self pay and asked, "what are most of your self-pay patients doing"....because I wasn't tied down by insurance companies' rules. He replied that most of them got the sleeve.

Soooo....that's what I got, fully mindful of the fact that it could be revised to the DS if I needed it later. I'm a "lightweight", so I think the sleeve will be it. I have to say that I really haven't had any problems except trying to throw away the Ghirardelli chocolate my son brought back from San Francisco "for Easter". I was really nervous before hand and really scared but I didn't want to wind up like my mother who has diabetes which has become the focal point of her life. I just wanted to live a life that wasn't constantly limited by that disease. I've already accomplished that, so I have to say the operation was already a success, even though I have more to lose.

I was pretty rigorous with the questions, even asking for another phone consultation about making sure he would keep my gall bladder if it looked OK (I'm kind of attached to the little guy). I now take Ursodiol and I haven't had any problems.

Anyway, he's glad to help you make the decision and it really comes down to what operation will fit you the best (and what the insurance mandates, if you have that).

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll walk out of the office feeling a lot better about all this!