This is a partial post - I couldn't find the rest - about a guy who posted on another board several years ago about how he lost his legs to protein malnutrition post-"DS", because he was non-compliant.
As a teeny tiny bit of reassurance, the amputee's surgeon was Adrian Heap, or Frankenheap as he was often called. For all we know, he did not have a proper DS in the first place.
This is from a post I made in June 2004 on duodenalswitch.com:
FYI: Dr. Heap spoke at the DS surgeons' meeting at the ASBS conference, which I attended. He described the surgery he is now doing, which he calls the "mini-DS" and it is VERY different from what we know the DS to be. What follows is what I remember of his talk, and I don't swear to its accuracy, but if you go to Heap, you should get the exact details from him of what he plans to do to you, and make up your own mind:
-- He does the stomach reduction, but also puts in a sialastic ring to keep the stomach from expanding later;
-- His version of the intestinal part is not at all a standard DS procedure, i.e., a Y shaped construction with separate biliopancreatic and alimentary channels that converge to a common channel -- instead he simply REMOVES a significant length of small intestine (MANY raised eyebrows in the audience) to induce malabsorption (note -- since the section of small bowel is removed in Heap's procedure, it cannot be revised to a longer length if there is too much weight loss or if there is a catastrophic bowel problem such as ischemia or strangulating hernia);
-- He also removes 6-8 lbs. of omentum, the membranous organ that I believe both connects and separates our internal organs -- claims it isn't necessary and "prevents adhesions" -- (more raised eyebrows).
This is only my personal opinion and impression of the reaction of the other DS surgeons at the meeting, but to say they were surprised and concerned would be an understatement. One of the other surgeons (Crookes?) commented that when he is forced to remove omentum due to cancer surgery, he finds MORE adhesions if he has to go back in. And you might want to ask Heap about his malpractice insurance situation -- he made some comments which related to his difficulty getting medmal insurance for WLS, but somehow doing this surgery made it OK? I didn't understand that part at all, but the other surgeons' eyebrows were hitting their hairlines!
ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure you understand what your surgeon is planning to do -- this is not the first case of a surgeon calling their procedure something that sounds like it a DS, but really isn't. I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with what Heap is doing -- I don't have the medical education to have an opinion -- but make sure you are fully informed before you pick a surgeon of what he or she plans to do. And getting a second opinion is always a good idea, especially if there is something non-standard offered.
As a teeny tiny bit of reassurance, the amputee's surgeon was Adrian Heap, or Frankenheap as he was often called. For all we know, he did not have a proper DS in the first place.
This is from a post I made in June 2004 on duodenalswitch.com:
FYI: Dr. Heap spoke at the DS surgeons' meeting at the ASBS conference, which I attended. He described the surgery he is now doing, which he calls the "mini-DS" and it is VERY different from what we know the DS to be. What follows is what I remember of his talk, and I don't swear to its accuracy, but if you go to Heap, you should get the exact details from him of what he plans to do to you, and make up your own mind:
-- He does the stomach reduction, but also puts in a sialastic ring to keep the stomach from expanding later;
-- His version of the intestinal part is not at all a standard DS procedure, i.e., a Y shaped construction with separate biliopancreatic and alimentary channels that converge to a common channel -- instead he simply REMOVES a significant length of small intestine (MANY raised eyebrows in the audience) to induce malabsorption (note -- since the section of small bowel is removed in Heap's procedure, it cannot be revised to a longer length if there is too much weight loss or if there is a catastrophic bowel problem such as ischemia or strangulating hernia);
-- He also removes 6-8 lbs. of omentum, the membranous organ that I believe both connects and separates our internal organs -- claims it isn't necessary and "prevents adhesions" -- (more raised eyebrows).
This is only my personal opinion and impression of the reaction of the other DS surgeons at the meeting, but to say they were surprised and concerned would be an understatement. One of the other surgeons (Crookes?) commented that when he is forced to remove omentum due to cancer surgery, he finds MORE adhesions if he has to go back in. And you might want to ask Heap about his malpractice insurance situation -- he made some comments which related to his difficulty getting medmal insurance for WLS, but somehow doing this surgery made it OK? I didn't understand that part at all, but the other surgeons' eyebrows were hitting their hairlines!
ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure you understand what your surgeon is planning to do -- this is not the first case of a surgeon calling their procedure something that sounds like it a DS, but really isn't. I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with what Heap is doing -- I don't have the medical education to have an opinion -- but make sure you are fully informed before you pick a surgeon of what he or she plans to do. And getting a second opinion is always a good idea, especially if there is something non-standard offered.
