Newbie DS'r end of week 4 report...not good!

[Elizabeth N.]

Chicken is a staple in my surgeon's phase II diet.

I don't seem to have an issue with it as long as it is moist.

I have a "50% sleeve" that had the staple line oversewn per my op report. This may help my tolerance of chicken.

What does "50% sleeve" mean? I don't think oversewn staple line would make a difference--doesn't make logical sense to me from what I understand of the procedure and of anatomy.

 

[catecholamine]

What does "50% sleeve" mean? I don't think oversewn staple line would make a difference--doesn't make logical sense to me from what I understand of the procedure and of anatomy.

It means Dr. Boyce only took out 50% of his stomach. That's what Dr. Boyce and Dr. Williams do now.

 

[southernlady]

What does "50% sleeve" mean? I don't think oversewn staple line would make a difference--doesn't make logical sense to me from what I understand of the procedure and of anatomy.

Not sure about the rest of it but reports from his (and my) surgeon's patients are that both Dr. Boyce and his partner, Dr. Williams are now doing a sleeve only 50% reduced from original size.

I'm just thankful MINE is way smaller than that.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Not sure about the rest of it but reports from his (and my) surgeon's patients are that both Dr. Boyce and his partner, Dr. Williams are now doing a sleeve only 50% reduced from original size.

I'm just thankful MINE is way smaller than that.

Aw shit. Happy revision, folks.

 

[BrianChesteen]

EN @Elizabeth N.

I spent some time getting all of this clarified with Dr. Boyce last week.

Essentially ER @southernlady is correct, Dr. Boyce is now only reducing DS stomach sizes by 50%. He uses a 34F bougie just as a tool to press against to fire the stapler. In my case, he also over-stitched the staple line with sutures.

Unfortunately I never had a conversation about this prior to surgery because he told me during the consult that the DS patients end up with a "slightly larger" sleeve vs the VSG patients. My mistake for not fully clarifying this.

The bright side is that most of his DS patients appear to have been very successful at least in the short term (1-2 years).

As for what a 50% stomach means for me @ 5 weeks post op, I can hold about 5-6oz of liquid at one pop but feel really full. ~3-4oz of more solid stuff is all I can hold.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

I'm sorry to sound like such a downer, Brian. I hope that your results are wonderful and long lasting. Part of my "lashing out" involves many other things I've read that are not directly related to stomach size in the DS and are, instead, related to the insistence of virtually EVERY FUCKING SURGEON ON THE PLANET (or so at seems at times like this) to assume that life at a year or two postop is reflective of real long term postop life. It isn't. This should not be rocket science. But because of the "ease" of followup and the "expense" of research, combined with the demands of professional life involving "getting published," this simple reality gets ignored and downright lied about.

Liars piss me off. ARGH.

 

[BrianChesteen]

I'm sorry to sound like such a downer, Brian. I hope that your results are wonderful and long lasting. Part of my "lashing out" involves many other things I've read that are not directly related to stomach size in the DS and are, instead, related to the insistence of virtually EVERY FUCKING SURGEON ON THE PLANET (or so at seems at times like this) to assume that life at a year or two postop is reflective of real long term postop life. It isn't. This should not be rocket science. But because of the "ease" of followup and the "expense" of research, combined with the demands of professional life involving "getting published," this simple reality gets ignored and downright lied about.

Liars piss me off. ARGH.

Oh how I understand! That is why I am kicking myself for not questioning further during the consult. One would assume that a surgeon with Dr. Boyce's reputation (at least in this area anyway) would mean that you would get the "industry standard" procedure for your $25,750.00 but that does not seem to be the case.

He makes some pretty good arguments about why him and his partner now do this for the DS. I am not qualified to judge his position on this.

I am committed however to make this work for me regardless! This is my last chance at getting my life back. There is no $$$ in the kitty for any revisions!

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Oh how I understand! That is why I am kicking myself for not questioning further during the consult. One would assume that a surgeon with Dr. Boyce's reputation (at least in this area anyway) would mean that you would get the "industry standard" procedure for your $25,750.00 but that does not seem to be the case.

He makes some pretty good arguments about why him and his partner now do this for the DS. I am not qualified to judge his position on this.

I am committed however to make this work for me regardless! This is my last chance at getting my life back. There is no $$$ in the kitty for any revisions!

Yup, just do your best and trust for the best outcome. I will cheerfully and loudly judge their position on this It's bullshit.