Guest guest Posted August 20, 2001 Report Share Posted August 20, 2001 Hello all, It has been a very LONG time since I posted here with you since going web only with the tons of mail this list generates! But since alerted me to the letter from the Stanford " Bariatric Program " and I went in and read it and all of your responses, I thought I would post what I know since I am a Stanford nurse and I made my first inquiries about WLS there at Stanford. First, it is true that only Gastric Bypass/RNY are done at Stanford; they do not do DS. Furthermore, it is my understanding that they only do PROXIMAL Gastric Bypass, so their statement saying no malabsorptive risk with RNY is partly true. Dr Vierra who WAS the main surgeon doing Bariatric procedures there also did many OTHER types of surgeries in addition to WLS and his specialty (and probably " first love " ) is Laparascopic technique not helping morbidly obese people. He was there a long time and most likely does recall the failed I-J Bypass and the plastic balloon in stomach and stomach stapling failures! (He has recently left Stanford and is now in private practice in the bay area -- I heard Santa Cruz or Monterrey, but I am not certain.) I know for a fact that it was Dr Vierra's personal belief that " all malabsorptive procedures are dangerous and Gastric Bypass gives comparable results " since this is what he told my PCP at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation after I asked him to make inquiries about DS on my behalf. After my PCP reported that back to me and I read some of the patient comments about Dr Vierra on the ObesityHelp.com web site, I began searching elsewhere for a surgeon -- I said then and I say now, the results may be comparable for some, but the quality of eating and quality of life for most certainly is NOT comparable! Also, I felt it was important to have a surgeon who viewed WLS as a means to correct my malfunctioning physiology not one who regarded it as a punishment to correct " bad behavior " ! I had surgery at OHSU (the teaching hospital in Portland OR) and have continued my follow-up with Dr Welker who is now in Eugene OR after having left OHSU. I could not be happier with my choice and my results. I have little gas, and no diarrhea and I am within 20 lbs of goal weight at 16 months postop. As for the comment about " surely those Stanford doctors have learned about DS at the national bariatric conferences " .... well, no, I doubt it. I attended the ASBS conference last June and there was not one Stanford surgeon there among the 1200+ MDs in attendance (there was a complete list of participants and their affiliations). As I said, at Stanford they do WLS as a part of their general surgery program, but I think it is misleading to be calling it a " Bariatric Program " !! Unless of course they have made changes since Vierra departed.... but from the sounds of the letter, they have a ways to go yet to have a REAL program. Dee, I sure hope you and some of the others who received that letter will write them back and tell them they are in dreadful need of updating their knowledge of modern weight-loss surgery. At the very least they should understand that DS/Subtotal Lateral Gastrectomy is a combined, balanced, gastric restrictive/malabsorptive procedure! Best e-gards, Gayle Hand DS/SLG 4/5/00 preop 250 lbs, BMI 47 current 142 lbs, BMI 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2001 Report Share Posted August 20, 2001 Hello all, It has been a very LONG time since I posted here with you since going web only with the tons of mail this list generates! But since alerted me to the letter from the Stanford " Bariatric Program " and I went in and read it and all of your responses, I thought I would post what I know since I am a Stanford nurse and I made my first inquiries about WLS there at Stanford. First, it is true that only Gastric Bypass/RNY are done at Stanford; they do not do DS. Furthermore, it is my understanding that they only do PROXIMAL Gastric Bypass, so their statement saying no malabsorptive risk with RNY is partly true. Dr Vierra who WAS the main surgeon doing Bariatric procedures there also did many OTHER types of surgeries in addition to WLS and his specialty (and probably " first love " ) is Laparascopic technique not helping morbidly obese people. He was there a long time and most likely does recall the failed I-J Bypass and the plastic balloon in stomach and stomach stapling failures! (He has recently left Stanford and is now in private practice in the bay area -- I heard Santa Cruz or Monterrey, but I am not certain.) I know for a fact that it was Dr Vierra's personal belief that " all malabsorptive procedures are dangerous and Gastric Bypass gives comparable results " since this is what he told my PCP at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation after I asked him to make inquiries about DS on my behalf. After my PCP reported that back to me and I read some of the patient comments about Dr Vierra on the ObesityHelp.com web site, I began searching elsewhere for a surgeon -- I said then and I say now, the results may be comparable for some, but the quality of eating and quality of life for most certainly is NOT comparable! Also, I felt it was important to have a surgeon who viewed WLS as a means to correct my malfunctioning physiology not one who regarded it as a punishment to correct " bad behavior " ! I had surgery at OHSU (the teaching hospital in Portland OR) and have continued my follow-up with Dr Welker who is now in Eugene OR after having left OHSU. I could not be happier with my choice and my results. I have little gas, and no diarrhea and I am within 20 lbs of goal weight at 16 months postop. As for the comment about " surely those Stanford doctors have learned about DS at the national bariatric conferences " .... well, no, I doubt it. I attended the ASBS conference last June and there was not one Stanford surgeon there among the 1200+ MDs in attendance (there was a complete list of participants and their affiliations). As I said, at Stanford they do WLS as a part of their general surgery program, but I think it is misleading to be calling it a " Bariatric Program " !! Unless of course they have made changes since Vierra departed.... but from the sounds of the letter, they have a ways to go yet to have a REAL program. Dee, I sure hope you and some of the others who received that letter will write them back and tell them they are in dreadful need of updating their knowledge of modern weight-loss surgery. At the very least they should understand that DS/Subtotal Lateral Gastrectomy is a combined, balanced, gastric restrictive/malabsorptive procedure! Best e-gards, Gayle Hand DS/SLG 4/5/00 preop 250 lbs, BMI 47 current 142 lbs, BMI 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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