Surgeon Makes Unilateral Decision

I had a vertical gastrectomy on March 22, 2007.  On the date of my surgery, I weighed in at 355 (down from close to 400 pounds) and had a 52-inch waist.  According to my surgeon's post-operative manual, he said that I would be left with a three to four ounce stomach pouch, yet when I woke up, he wasn't around.  I was told by his PA that the surgery went well and reminded me to drink lots of clear liquids the first two weeks. When I had my first post-op appontment with him, I asked him why I was regurgitating so much every time I tried to drink three or four ounces.  That's when he told me that he decided that I was too morbidly obese (bullsh*t) and needed a smaller pouch.  By the time I got angry enough to ask about him producing the signed Consent Forms required for a surgeon during an elective operation.  All he would say is "We're not even going there!" During ELECTIVE SURGERY, your surgeon is only supposed to perform the operation for which you paid your money.  He/she has neither the legal nor the moral authority to make decisions about your body without your consent.   So if you're thinking about WLS, select a surgeon who will see you as a person and not about how much money they're going to make.  You can find charlatans in any profession these days.

I know you are hot about this now but it might very well be the best decision he could have made for you.  It doesn't take him any longer or shorter time to alter the size of the pouch so what do you think his motive would have been other than to make sure you lost enough weight without needing a revision.  If he had made your pouch the original size he mentioned you might have never lost the weight needed.  I can only tell you that my surgeon made my pouch 1 oz and now I can hold 10 oz after almost 5 years. Try to trust what he did and give him the benefit of the doubt.  It will be a long recovery time for you if you hold so much resentment.  Enjoy your honeymoon and don't sweat the small stuff.   Best of luck, Susan in Vt RNY 05/21/03

Susan in Vt., I would have lost the weight I did with a four ounce pouch, but in a slower amount of time.  I was put on an 800 calorie per day diet for five months.  I don't know how tall you are, but I stand 6'5" tall and swimming 1/4 mile every day and then walking two to three miles a day helped me reach ketosis, where the fat-burning generator kicked in.  I had trouble being outside in the sun because I was burning fat.  But I got up every day and hit the pool. Eventually I was hospitalized with something resembling malnutrition.  Once I went to a 1500 cal/day diet, I felt better.  The 800 cal diet caused my body to begin to eat its own muscle tissue for energy and every day I exercised, I became so fatigued until I couldn't exercise anymore.  This should have raised red flags with my surgeon that something terribly wrong.  He told me to stay at 800 cal, I told him to shove it and that I was taking charge of my body. I'm not really bitter.  I'm happy that I lost 120 pounds in five months, in spite of the serious trauma to my body by losing so much weight so fast.  Cirangle ought to have known that, but he had a secret agenda.  I don't trust doctors who lie to patients for their own personal goals. And Susan, the next time you see a surgeon for elective surgery, don't sweat the small stuff if they remove something that was not agreed upon in your contract.

Probably best thing for you. Just think how much weight you'll lose, Besides, if you;re not careful and eat right the pouch will stretch. J

With 85 percent of my stomach removed and stapled shut, my pouch looks like a very small banana.  The area of the stomach that is really expandable is gone for good and what I have left may stretch out to six or seven ounces at the max.  For the doctor to decide that I need a smaller stomach pouch without having a signed consent form is wrong.

i have a 2-3 oz pouch, you dont see me *****ing. what wrong with a smaller pouch??

In the beginning, everything as I tried to get three or four ounces of protein down my throat only to regurgitate it and not know the reason why. You're entitled not to b*tch as much as I'm entitled to b*tch.  Don't we live in a wonderful country?

He's the doc and he made an executive decision that he thought was best for you. he did the right thing.

No, he didn't.  His 17- or 27-page consent form seemed to cover everything -- except that.  This is why there's such things as arbitration and lawsuits.

It appears this profile was created for the sole purpose of slamming this doctor in public.  Why?  Are attorneys telling you that you have no case, so as a last resort you thought you'd go the libelous route?