Hey everyone! Newbie here with questions :)

[Clematis]

Please edit out the name of the company per forum regulations @southernlady (And don't help the place by repeating it @Marquis Mark )

 

[Butterfly13]

Did your potential surgeon really tell you your surgery would take 9-10 hours?? this is extreme, and even for a revision from lap band, and I've only ever heard of this in a rare patient with serious complications. Even RNY to DS revisions, which are MUCH more complicated than from lap band, can be done faster than that (in experienced hands). Who is your surgeon? It is so very important to make sure you have an experienced DS surgeon, and that he/she is doing a real DS.

yes, I will PM you and tell you

 

[DSRIGGS]

Nicki can you please tell us who your surgeon is? If you notice almost all of us have our surgeons name in our signature or avatar. It is very important to select a qualified revision surgeon said there aren't many out there.

 

[Butterfly13]

Nicki can you please tell us who your surgeon is? If you notice almost all of us have our surgeons name in our signature or avatar. It is very important to select a qualified revision surgeon said there aren't many out there.

Scott,

I will say who it is... But I want people to know that I am 100% satisfied with who he is. I am asking these questions because his requirements seem a LOT different than most people's that I have read online, on many different sites. With that being said, I know he's reputation and he's a great choice. I am just trying to formulate my own opinions and get advice on how people are doing it that are "veterans".

Dr. Myur S. Srikanth
Federal Way, WA

 

[DSRIGGS]

Thanks Nicki. I haven't heard of this guy but maybe others have. Did you ask how many virgin DS procedures he has completed and the same question for how many revisions? Those are two very important questions as you want a very experienced DS surgeon.

You also need to ask if he does the Hess method DS or the standard length CC and AL. That is extremely important as well.

I trusted my choice in DS surgeon and thought I had done more than enough research. Unfortunately I was wrong eish I had it to do over again because he messed me up and I have battled big time malnutrition and have been miserable for most of the last 2.5 years. In fact I had to have a revision to lengthen my AL and CC last August with world's best DS and revision surgeon Dr Ara Keshishian in Glendale, California. Had I gone to him from day one my life would have been so much better for the last 2.5 years. As it was he had to try and fix an already damaged system and although I improved initially I am very close to going on TPN. It is quite possible that I will be spending a month in Glendale for TPN and possible partial reversal of my DS as right now I am pretty much disabled (I finally accepted that fact).

Anyway this post isn't about me it is about you and your health. I hope this is a great day Dr that I was not aware of, but as of now I didn't think we knew of any vetted DS or revision ds surgeons in Washington.

Best wishes to you if you haven't asked the questions uesions I asked above, please do so. You want an experienced revisionista who employs the Hess method to optimize the DS to your specific requirements based on your small bowel length.

 

[Butterfly13]

Thanks Nicki. I haven't heard of this guy but maybe others have. Did you ask how many virgin DS procedures he has completed and the same question for how many revisions? Those are two very important questions as you want a very experienced DS surgeon.

You also need to ask if he does the Hess method DS or the standard length CC and AL. That is extremely important as well.

I trusted my choice in DS surgeon and thought I had done more than enough research. Unfortunately I was wrong eish I had it to do over again because he messed me up and I have battled big time malnutrition and have been miserable for most of the last 2.5 years. In fact I had to have a revision to lengthen my AL and CC last August with world's best DS and revision surgeon Dr Ara Keshishian in Glendale, California. Had I gone to him from day one my life would have been so much better for the last 2.5 years. As it was he had to try and fix an already damaged system and although I improved initially I am very close to going on TPN. It is quite possible that I will be spending a month in Glendale for TPN and possible partial reversal of my DS as right now I am pretty much disabled (I finally accepted that fact).

Anyway this post isn't about me it is about you and your health. I hope this is a great day Dr that I was not aware of, but as of now I didn't think we knew of any vetted DS or revision ds surgeons in Washington.

Best wishes to you if you haven't asked the questions uesions I asked above, please do so. You want an experienced revisionista who employs the Hess method to optimize the DS to your specific requirements based on your small bowel length.

Wow Scott! I'm so sorry you went through all of that! I will definitely be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

He has performed 5,000+ bariatric surgeries and said he "learned on the DS". I didn't ask about the Hess, CC, or AL.... I have no idea what those are but they are great questions I can email his office.

I'm have my surgery in exactly one week (next Wednesday) and I'm soooooo excited/nervous!!!!

I have been reading up on what some people take for vitamins.... Seeing that I think the recommendations for me seemed off compared to what everyone else seems to be taking. What do you take?

 

[DSRIGGS]

CC = common channel
AL = Alimentary limb
BPL = bilopancreatic limb

The Hess method measures you total small bowel length (SBL) and then your CC is made approximately 10% of SBL and the AL is made 40%. This optimizes the DS to ensure you don't lose too little or too much weight.

Long story short I only had 34% of my total SBL as absorbing intestine (CC and AL) and 66% was non absorbing (BPL). Naturally I ended up severely malnourished because 50% of my SBL should have been absorbing small bowel. How did that happen? I was given a 100 cm CC and 150cm AL because those were his standard lengths. We all have varying SBL and if my total SBL had been 500 cm that would have worked fine for me, but seeing that upon revision it was found that my total SBL was around 750 cm, those channel lengths were grossly too short.

The hard part of the DS is dividing the duodenum and sewing it back together at the new locations. To measure the small bowel length so optimal channel lengths can be calculated and employed, takes a whopping extra 15 minutes.

I preach about the Hess method because I suffered from a guy not doing the Hess method on me. I don't want others to have happen to them what happened to me. ...and I also don't want the converse to happen where channels are made too long and the patient doesn't lose enough weight. Note the cookies cutter can work and does for many but it is an unnecessary crap shoot because the total SBL is never measured and those channel lengths will work for some but not for others.

FYI I checked out his site and he mentions that he also does the SADI which is experimental, so make sure he is giving you a full DS and write into your consent papers that under no circumstance are you to be given a SADI and that you will only accept a DS.

Thanks for your kinds words and my best wishes to you..