Question:
What type of surgery?

I read on here lots of people choose their type of surgery. I think the surgeons know more about this than I do. I have Kaiser, will they ask me what surgery I want?    — beh4440 (posted on March 24, 2006)

March 24, 2006
Hi I have Kaiser too in California and last Tuesday I attended their orientation meeting. They do open RNY only and may start lapband in a few months. HOWEVER, I understand if you persist you can get a DS but I am cutting the malarky (read paperwork) short and self paying for the operation in Spain-Patricia
   — catcat

March 24, 2006
Your surgeon knows more about how to perform the surgeries than you do, but who knows YOU better. Who will have to live with the results day-to-day for the rest of their life? I know many, MANY people IRL and online who let the surgeon/internist talk them into or out of a surgery type, and I will never understand that. They are one of your best sources for information which you need to make your decision, yes, but that's where their influence should end. Your body, your life, YOUR decision. Just make sure it's an informed one.
   — Jeanie

March 24, 2006
Beverly, The previous poster said it well: You are the person who has to live with the results of the form of WLS that you choose for the remainder of your life. I joined weight watchers when I was 6 years old the first time. I have been on almost every diet under the son. How many hundreds (thousands?) of pounds have I lost in a lifetime? How many have I gained back? How well do I know me? If I'm honest with myself about who I am I know that I love food. (I have a culinary degree to prove it! LOL!) I know that I also have substantial structural damage due to the many years of super morbid obesity - and that sometimes heavy duty pain medication will be a part of my future life. (Well, I continue to hope for medical advances!) I know that I have lots of food intolerances and allergies, as well. And I know how I feel (rebellious) when I'm told I have to give stuff up - and the fact that that very well was a big part of why no diet worked for me. Hence, when I did my research on which types of WLS were available (there were 6 at the time I was a researching pre-op) the more I read about the DS, the more convinced I was that it was the surgery that I wanted. Then I started meeting WLS post-ops of all sorts of different forms of WLS - and the one thing I came away totally amazed at was how completely NORMAL their relationship to food was. I went through all sorts of insurance nightmares - including denials by two insurance companies, despite the fact that I had five letters of medical necessity indicating why it was so vital to my survival! Suffice it all to say that I ended up being a self-pay patient - and to this day I call it a huge blessing to have had to go that route. It made me understand the fact that choosing which surgeon, what surgery, and what level of responsibility that I held in all of it was beyond significant. So - bottom line is this: I know me better than pretty much anyone else. I know what I'm willing to make a lifetime commitment to. That's why I chose the surgery I did, the surgeon I did, and choose to life withthe lifetime requirements for good post-op health that I did. Hope that helps some. Blessings, dina PS - saw you're in the same neck of the woods I am from. Please feel free to let me know if you ever want to catch coffee and chat, okay?
   — Dina McBride

March 24, 2006
Having previously worked of Kaiser for almost 24 years I feel it is safe to say it depends on the Region you live in- I understand since I moved from Northern Cal almost 6 years ago they now have their own bariatric surgery center in So. Cal. so I can't really speak for what they are doing now- however here in Colorado they use an outside Kaiser bariatric surgical specialist- he does the RNY and according to the classes most times does it laproscopically. One thing to keep in mind about Kaiser they don't jump into anything -the nurses union used say they were like a dinosaur- slow to change, however they wait until there is enough evidence and research to prove something is beneficial and they usually hire the best doctors they can find to take on these sorts of projects- so speaking as not only an upcoming (4/18)wls patient but also a nurse I would listen too and question your Kaiser surgeon- you not only want the procedure best suited for your health but the one your doctor does the best.
   — dabby

March 24, 2006
You will not be able to choose. I have Kaiser too. They do mostly Laproscopic RNY, and only if it there is not another choice "Open" RNY.
   — sor09

March 24, 2006

   — [Deactivated Member]

March 25, 2006
It doesn't matter what type of insurance you have, a good physician will always give you choices.
   — vickicarson