Question:
Considering VG, anyone had this surgery want to tell me good & bad

I was considering gastric band when i learned of VG from www.lapsf.com Everything i have read looks real good and i am about a bmi of 38 and have to self pay. very few complications with vg and weight loss statistics look good even though it has only been performed for a few years. I have heard weight regain could be a factor in a purly restrictive operation. Thanks for any coments i look forward to reading them. Oh flackmaster is my game name. My name is John {shy}    — firemanjohn (posted on June 10, 2005)

June 9, 2005
hI jOHN, Good luck in whatever procedure you choose. I've had the Lapband done. over 18months no rebound weight so far. I would never choose another. Mostly because it's reversable. I've lost 78 pounds so far. Feel healty and most times forget i even had surg. Give it some real thought, it's always a battle no matter which way you choose to go.
   — ELIZABETH C.

June 10, 2005
Hey John! I know a few people who have had the sleeve gastrectomy, actually. My surgeon (Dr. Aniceto Baltasar - www.drbaltasar.com or www.bodybybaltasar.com) really believes in this procedure, and feels that it's appropriate for a lot of folks! Maybe I can put you in touch with a few of them, if you'd like. Also - a few of us have just started a new Yahoo group for folks who have had or are researching having the sleeve gastrectomy done. It's at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sleevegastrectomy/ I was a self-pay patient, too, so I can totally relate to the decision process you're going through. It's a huge thing balancing spending your dollars wisely and making a choice of a surgery that is about the rest of your life. I, for one, am thrilled with my surgery and my surgeon - I'm so thankful insurance did't cover, and that I was fortunate enough to find Dr. Baltasar. What a blessing! Anyway, if I can answer any questions, let me know, okay? Blessings, dina
   — Dina McBride

June 10, 2005
My own opinion is, it depends. It absolutely will help you lose the weight -- most of the weight loss due to having the VG/DS is due to the VG part, with the DS providing the durability of the weight loss. However, there's the rub -- will you be able to maintain the weight loss after the stomach stretches/regrows to 2/3 the original size of the stomach? Another thing -- it is the DS portion of the VG/DS that provides the immediate cure of type II diabetes (although weight loss will ulimately help the T2D too), as well as the long term cure. Since you have a BMI of only 38 yet apparently qualify for WLS, I assume you have at least one severe comorbidity -- if that comorbidity is T2D, I would SERIOUSLY consider that the VG alone may not cure the T2D as quickly and permanently as the full VG/DS. I would discuss this carefully with the surgeons at lapsf, as well as getting a second opinion (the lapsf surgeons have been publishing on the standalone VG, and if it were me, I would be concerned that I was being steered to that surgery -- this is just my opinion, and has nothing to do with any knowledge of how lapsf practices -- a second opinion on such a life-altering surgery, in particular in an area where surgeons disagree, would be prudent).
   — [Deactivated Member]