Question:
What is the test called to check the stoma size and stomach capacity?

I just fired my surgeon because he will not check this even though I have told him that I could eat too much and drink too much right away. I called several time about it and mentioned it at every Dr appt and he refuses to order it he just wants me to come in again. You can't tell what's going on in the inside from the outside and I have a new job and can not take a day off work he only sees people M-F days and he's 1.5 hrs away. His only answer is if you never take more than 7 bites at a meal then you ill lose the weight. DUH! This was true pre-surgery too. Why did it cost $40,000 if thats all I needed to follow? I still don't feel I have a good mechanical tool to aid in this. Someone I know just had this surgery and has lost more weight in 7 weeks then I have in 9 months and is very restricted in the amount she can eat. I have only lost 54 pounds and could have done that and have done that through WW. We both had the surgery through the WISH Center but she got the surgery I thought I was getting. I"m ranting I know but I want to ask my PCP for the test and need to know what to specifically ask for. Thanks for any help anyone can give me.    — Candace F. (posted on October 15, 2002)

October 15, 2002
I believe the test is Upper GI series, atleast that is what I had done.
   — skyler218

October 15, 2002
I believe the test is called "ssek a second opinion." good luck on your quest.
   — faybay

October 15, 2002
THere are two tests that can be done. The first is an upper GI which shows pouch stretches stoma size etc. THe other is an endocopy. This is where they put a tiny camera down your throat and take pictures. I am sorry your durgeon is blowing you off. Mine did too and now I gained all my weight back. He sees now and he has ordered the first test for me and the gastro ordered the second. Good luck. Were you self pay? If not maybe you can contact the insurance company directly. Good Luck
   — snicklefritz

October 16, 2002
How big is my stomach pouch? Just about every patient asks this question on occasion. It is expected and appropriate that the stomach pouch will enlarge somewhat as the months pass after gastric bypass. Some of this enlargement is an actual increase in size, and some represents a softening (regaining of elasticity) of the pouch and its outlet. The real answer is that the FUNCTIONAL size varies with many factors such as time of day, the amount of time taken to eat, mood of the patient, other medical issues, and (most importantly) the type of food eaten. It is expected and appropriate that the pouch will handle a much smaller amount of solid food (chicken) than mushy stuff like mashed potatoes or soup. The cottage cheese test is a technique that was presented at the June 2000 meeting of the ASBS (and many times before that) by Latham Flanagan, MD (website is at The Oregon Center for Bariatric Surgery). It is meant to be a standardized, reproducible measurement of the physical size of the stomach pouch in a person who has undergone a gastric bypass procedure. Purchase a container of small curd low-fat cottage cheese. Begin the test with a full container, and perform the test in the morning before eating anything else (this will be your breakfast on that day). Eat fairly quickly until you feel full (less than five minutes). Note that the small soft curds do not require much chewing. The idea with the rapid eating is to fill the pouch before there is much time for food to flow out of it. After eating your "fill" of cottage cheese, you will be left with a partially eaten container that has empty space where cottage cheese used to be. Start with a measured amount of water (16 ounces, for example), and pour water into the container of cottage cheese until the water is level with the original top level of the cottage cheese. Voila - the amount of water poured into the container is the functional size of the pouch. If this is your first time doing the test - DON'T PANIC. You are likely to find that the "cottage cheese" size of your pouch is way bigger than your surgeon told you he/she made it at the time of surgery. Dr. Flanagan's data indicates that the average size of the mature pouch by cottage cheese test is 5.5 ounces. He has also found that sizes ranging from 3 to 9 ounces have NO IMPACT on the person's success in weight loss. This page was last updated on: 11/07/00
   — Barbara B.