What will happen to the DS?

[revisionDS]

Just thinking about this. Some of the big DS surgeons are getting older/retiring and it doesnt seem like they will be replaced? Also may of the big DSers in other countries like Baltasar, Marchesisin, Himpins, Weiner did many USA patients, with what happened with the economy, lower favorable exchange rates etc they hardly do any USA patients. Most of the DS surgeons are in the USA which makes sense since USA has a higher fat intake and EU countries have a higher carb intake, hence with dumping RNY is better and it is too expensive for long life suppelementation. Actually years before I had my revision to a DS I thought the DS # would go up, but I now think the DS will become more rare than it is now, hope I am wrong. Curious, any thoughts?

 

[southernlady]

Well, the exchange rate can change on a dime...

It's true that some of the big name DS surgeons are getting older/retired/died but others are coming along to take up the slack...they just aren't as well known yet. But we are hearing new names out there.

Think of it this way...back in the 50's they hadn't done coronary bypass...the first one was done in 1960. Most early surgeons are long gone now but the procedure has not disappeared. Other, younger surgeons have picked up the mantle and moved forward.

And I suspect that we will see newer and maybe better surgeries come along. Example, the SADI...it may or may not replace the DS...but it also is a possible to REPLACE the RNY. After all, the Proximal RNY is a better solution than a Distal (ERNY) RNY and the DS is a FAR better option than the old BPD that people use to be told was the DS. The sleeve is on the fast track already to replace the lapband. http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/sleeve-gastrectomy-replacing-other-bariatric-surgery.1740/

I honestly do not see dumping as a positive. I hate the idea of dumping...and the reactive hypoglycemia that has a much greater chance of showing up with the RNY is also a turn off. I HAVE RH already, I knew I didn't want that as an issue.

 

[Munchkin]

There will be a group doing the DS. Docs look for opportunities and underserved markets too. We have quite a few 'newbies' in the DS market. It's not for wimps or marginal surgeons though.

 

[Sheanie]

The DS is alive and well in Michigan, thanks to surgeons like Paul Kemmeter. He's a gem. I just wish the SADI would hurry up and be recognized as the short-cut it is. I am afraid that the DS will have it's excellent reputation muddied by the SADI, which will be sad.

 

[bearmom]

"hence with dumping RNY is better"

Says who? A rny salesman?? I was told that load by a RNY/band only surgeon, along with other myths that I now know to be untrue.

 

[Paula]

I lived with an RNY for 12 years...and never dumped. Bad news to bank on something that might not happen.

I think that innovation will probably add more potential surgeries, but I doubt the DS will go away entirely.

 

[Larra]

Honest gastric bypass surgeons tell their patients that dumping is NOT a weight loss tool, it is a very unpleasant side effect that some (not all!) patients have, some with sugary foods, some with fatty foods, and some with who knows what foods. No one can predict in advance which patients will dump and which won't. No one is even sure what percentage of RNY patients dump. I've seen numbers from 30% to 70%, a range so large as indicate that the real number isn't known. And some patients who do dump learn how to work around their dumping either by avoiding specific foods (but eating other unhealthy foods) or by eating just enough to stay below their personal threshold to cause symptoms.
Where bariatric surgery is headed I can't say, but at least lets not perpetuate misinformation about any of the operations available. If someone chooses RNY that is their choice and I respect their right to make that choice, but I hope they go into it accurately informed.

 

[k9ophile]

Honest gastric bypass surgeons tell their patients that dumping is NOT a weight loss tool, it is a very unpleasant side effect that some (not all!) patients have, some with sugary foods, some with fatty foods, and some with who knows what foods.
Every time I heard "We hope you dump!" at a Centennial Hospital WLS seminar, I would cringe. Who would wish that on anyone? My love affair with Centennial is over for good. They never fully supported the DS and now Houston is hawking the "Get the Sleeve and If It Fails I'll Switch You" as his main procedure.