Question:
How long should Laparoscopic BPD/DS take to perform?

The surgeon I'm considering says it will take him about 6 hours to complete a BPD/DS laparoscopicly. He's done about 60 lap. I have read elsewhere of other surgeons doing it lap in 3-4 hours. Can any of you guys who've had BPD/DS done lap tell me how long your surgery took? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks, Estela    — Estela O. (posted on March 13, 2002)

March 12, 2002
I will be having laparoscopic DS in late May with Dr. Gregg Jossart (former associated of Dr. Robert Rabkim) in San Francisco, CA. They both give an estimate of 3 hours for surgery. There aren't a lot of lap DS doctors around, so I am going from FL to CA for surgery (I see you are in NC and going to NY). I would be a little wary of being put under anesthesia quite that long to be honest. I guess it's better for him to take longer though because DS itself is complicated and lap just makes it harder. Dr. J's specialty is lap surgery (and he taught Dr. R how to do it I hear), so maybe that's why they are so proficient. Rabkim/Jossart did up to 300 through November '01 according to Dr. R's website. Dr. R and Dr. J are both great doctors, but since Dr. J is just beginning to firmly establish his own practice, the wait for a date is not that long, and the fee well... a bit less than Dr. R at the moment ;) Good luck to you!
   — [Deactivated Member]

March 12, 2002
my lap took 5 1/2 hours to complete. it was just the surgeon being careful so nothing was nicked. it worked cause i have had no complications 5 months out. and besides, i was asleep the whole time so it didn't matter how long it took
   — marc B.

March 13, 2002
What is BDP/DS?
   — N M.

March 13, 2002
Hi Nancy, the BPD/DS (or DS for short) stands for Billo-Pancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch. It's another type of gastric bypass surgery. I usually reccomend http://www.duodenalswitch.com and http://www.pacificsurgery.com (Dr. Rabkim's website) for information. Hope it helps :)
   — [Deactivated Member]

March 13, 2002
My surgery, and my husband's, were done by Dr. Jossart (the chief of laparoscopic surgery at Cal Pacific Medical Center) and Dr. Rabkin. My surgery took 2.5 hours, my husband's took 3.5 (he was a bit larger, and they had some difficulty working through his abdominal musculature). No complications with either surgery. -Kate-
   — kateseidel