HELP PLEASE! I need ALL the info I can get about DS and Dr. Heap.

Hello. I'm new to this message board thing...I hope it works out good for me. I am thinking about getting what Dr. Heap calls the "Mini-Switch." I was just wondering IF any of you have had this or heard of it? I guess it's a lot like the DS bit differs just slightly. What can I expect as far as surgery goes (and don't sugar coat it...just be blunt...I've had 2 c-sections (one after 52 hours of HARD labor with NO meds...UGH!)...nothing scares me as far as surgery goes), and then what is it like after the surgery? How is Dr. Heap as a doctor? PLEASE just give me allllll the info you can...The good, the bad, and the ugly. I feel like a sponge...I just want to absorb all the information that I can so I can make a good choice in doing what is right for myself, my husband and our 2 boys. Also, if any of you have had pregnancies after the DS what was it like and how did it differ from previous ones? THANK YOU in advance for your time and answers. Sincerely Thankful, ~Darcy

This is something that was posted about a month ago regarding the "mini switch".......... I would definitely think twice about this procedure... but here you are: I would also like to advise people that Dr. Heap's "mini-switch" or "mini-DS" is a highly unusual procedure that has none of the years of experience behind it that a proper DS does. I attended a meeting of DS surgeons at the ASBS conference in San Diego in June 2004, at which Dr. Heap spoke about this procedure. The reaction among the DS surgeons was -- and this is my opinion only -- to put it mildly, surprise and concern. Dr. Heap does not do a standard DS at all -- he removes some of the stomach, and REMOVES (not bypasses) several feet of intestine (in the RNY and DS, intestine is BYPASSED but remains in the body, and if there is an intestinal problem such as a kink or obstruction, there is "spare" intestine still available); he also REMOVES a large portion of the omentum, which REALLY surprised some of the surgeons -- one said that when he has had to remove omentum due to cancer, there is a terrible amount of adhesions that results. Dr. Heap may be a pioneer, or perhaps a renegade surgeon -- I am in no position to judge. However, his techniques are NOT standard, and as I recall, he stated that he developed them in response to issues he was having with respect to getting the DS approved by insurance companies. I'm not sure that's a good reason to radically modify a time-tested successful surgery. Having his staff soliciting patients on the message board is, at best, a questionable business practice, IMHO. And, he self-reported that he does NOT carry malpractice insurance, something I would be EXTREMELY uncomfortable with. Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.