Question:
How far from goal weight before Dr. considers a revision

I am wondering. I had surgery in July of 2002. I was 224 now I am 150. I have been here since about 6-8 months after my surgery. Open Rny. My doc says he did the least restrictive as I only had 110 pounds to lose. I am 5 foot. I would like to get to 115 or 120. I have followed Atkins the last month very faithfully and lost 3 opounds. I drink plenty aand even started walking more. so is a revision even poosible for me. also if it is who do I see as my surgeon retired. Thank You Lynne    — Lynne K. (posted on April 17, 2005)

April 17, 2005
They usually won't do a revision just because you don't reach goal. Do you know if you were transected? You need to contact a bariatric surgeon and let them check your mechanics out to make sure everything is still in place. I saw a post from a ladfy a few months ago that had gained two hundred pounds back and nothing was wrong. She just went back to the very basics like when you first had surgery and kind of "retrained her tool" and she started losing weight again. You know the routine, liquids only, then pureed, then soft and etc. protein first, then veggies and fruits and lots of water. Have you tried this?
   — Delores S.

April 17, 2005
Honestly, going by what you said on how much you had to lose, you lost pretty much the "average" amount with RNY. Most patients don't lose 100% of their excess weight. The average is 65% of the excess weight is lost, and you've lost 67% of your excess weight. That doesn't mean you can't lose more, I'm just saying your weight loss thus far has been average. In order to get a revision, something has to be wrong with the original surgery. You can go to another surgeon and they can do an endoscopy on you to make sure everything looks okay with your original surgery. Otherwise, you are pretty much stuck with what you've got, and working on losing more.
   — nursekuba

April 17, 2005
LYNN, I AGREE WITH THE OTHERS, i DON'T THINK A DOCTOR WOULD DO A REVISION ON YOU AT THIS POINT. yOU WOULD HAVE TO BE GAINING WEIGHT & MAYBE NOT HAVE LOST ANY FOR THEM TO THINK ABOUT THAT. i THINK IF YOU GO BACK TO MEASURING FOOD & ONLY EATING 3 TIMES A DAY WITH NO SNACKING IN BETWEEN. YOU WILL PROBABLY START LOSING WEIGHT AGAIN. yOU ARE PROBABLY EATING MORE THAN YOU SHOULD TO KEEP LOSING INSTEAD YOU ARE EATING ENOUGHT TO MAINTAIN. sO WRITE DOWN EVERTHING YOU ARE EATING & TAKE A LOOK AT IT. iT WILL PROBABLY SHOCK YOU AS TO HOW MUCH YOU AR TRULY TAKING IN. cUT IT IN HALF IT WON'T KILL YOU & WILL PROBABLY JUMP START THE WEIGHT LOSS AGAIN. GOOD LUCK & LET US KNOW HOW YOU DO. MARILYN, THE BEARLADY
   — Marilyn C.

April 17, 2005
Sometimes they will revise if you still have some comorbs, or if you are gaining. Tell us about the program you follow
   — vitalady

April 18, 2005
You need to have a BMI of 35+ for a revision, don't you? Your BMI is 29. That's not even obese, just overweight.
   — mrsmyranow

April 18, 2005
No, you don't automatically have to have a high BMI. I had only regained 12#, but I did have SLD, so obviously was GOING to regain it all. My ins looked at it as a repair. I was ultra healthy at 124, so a revision there made more sense than waiting. I dropped my extra lbs in 2 weeks. I've held many hands thru revision who were not morbid again. However, some companies do require one to regain a full 100#, Boeing for one. If the doc can write a good letter, though, most companies who cover WLS at all, will at least consider revision, depending on a dozen factors, of course
   — vitalady