Re: importance etc..

July 23, 2001

I am really dissapointed in the trend this thread is taking. Whatever

choice one makes has to be right for the individual. I'm preop and

trying to decide what surgery to have, but one thing that really bugs

me is the *my surgery is better than your surgery nah nah* mentality.

I have read where *all* rny'rs put down d/s. Really? talked to them

all have you? Because I would imagine a lot of them could care less

what anyone else has as long as it's working and the people are

happy. As for rny being the gold standard in wls... right now, by

defintion, as being the most widely performed surgery for weight

loss, it is. That doesn't mean other surgeries aren't wonderful and

valid, and it doesn't mean it won't change,10 years ago stapling

alone was the gold standard. Saying a surgery is the gold standard

right now is not putting down another surgery.

according to www.oregoncenter.com/article1.html and other sources the

success rate is as follows, 50% for vgb in the us(with 60 percent in

europe, go figure), 75-85% of excess weight for rny and 85-95% excess

weight with d/s with almost 50% regain for vbg, 20% for rny and

almost no regain with d/s. Each surgery has it's pros and cons, but

we are all in this to lose weight, feel better about ourselves, etc,

no matter which surgery. Can't people, vgb, rny, and d/s promote

their individual choices without putting down other surgeries or the

people who've had them? I would say it to any rny person who puts

down d/s ers. Maybe in 10 years both of these surgeries will be

obsolete and there will be another new, better surgery, who knows?

The important thing is to be happy with the path chosen by you.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I'm not sorry I got it off my

chest.. Becky

July 23, 2001

Becky, I think we really have to differentiate between what you may

perceive as a " superior " statements and statements that merely recite

factual data. Whether the DS is " best " for a particular individual is

debatable, but from a purely clinical standpoint, on the basis of weight

loss/maintenance, the DS is indeed superior. I can understand a non-DS

person possibly bristling at this statement, but it is a fact borne out

by years of medical studies. I think also it is human nature for people

to want to think that their choice was the best one -- this is true for

anyone who opts for any procedure. So, it may be asking a lot to expect

folks to not crow a little bit when they are happy to have settled on an

option that they see as ideal. Your point is well taken, though, that we

need to be considerate of the feelings of other people. A myriad of

factors come into play when choosing a procedure, not the least of which

is availability and accessibility. So I do try to walk that fine line of

giving factual info while trying not to hurt anyone's feelings. However,

some people will take offense regardless. The purpose of this list is to

support the DS, so one should be surprised to see loyalty here to that

procedure, including people's opinion of other options and " not as

good. " We don't pretend to be an " all WLS to all people " listgroup, but

we do hope to remain balanced overall.

> re: importance etc..

>

> I am really dissapointed in the trend this thread is taking. Whatever

> choice one makes has to be right for the individual. I'm preop and

> trying to decide what surgery to have, but one thing that really bugs

> me is the *my surgery is better than your surgery nah nah* mentality.

> I have read where *all* rny'rs put down d/s. Really? talked to them

> all have you? Because I would imagine a lot of them could care less

> what anyone else has as long as it's working and the people are

> happy. As for rny being the gold standard in wls... right now, by

> defintion, as being the most widely performed surgery for weight

> loss, it is. That doesn't mean other surgeries aren't wonderful and

> valid, and it doesn't mean it won't change,10 years ago stapling

> alone was the gold standard. Saying a surgery is the gold standard

> right now is not putting down another surgery.

> according to www.oregoncenter.com/article1.html and other sources the

> success rate is as follows, 50% for vgb in the us(with 60 percent in

> europe, go figure), 75-85% of excess weight for rny and 85-95% excess

> weight with d/s with almost 50% regain for vbg, 20% for rny and

> almost no regain with d/s. Each surgery has it's pros and cons, but

> we are all in this to lose weight, feel better about ourselves, etc,

> no matter which surgery. Can't people, vgb, rny, and d/s promote

> their individual choices without putting down other surgeries or the

> people who've had them? I would say it to any rny person who puts

> down d/s ers. Maybe in 10 years both of these surgeries will be

> obsolete and there will be another new, better surgery, who knows?

> The important thing is to be happy with the path chosen by you.

> I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I'm not sorry I got it off my

> chest.. Becky

_________________________________________________________

July 23, 2001

Becky,

I can see your point. However, isn't this list supposed to be about

the DS? I certainly wouldn't dare go on an RNY list and make any

negative statements about the RNY, but I thought we were safe here to

discuss why we have had/are having/are considering the DS over the

RNY or other types of WLS. I didn't read into any of the posts in

this thread anything even close to suggesting that all people who

choose the RNY made the wrong choice. I thought we were just

discussing the things about the DS that are superior to the RNY. I

just wanted to compare/contrast the two surgeries, and personally I

am learning a lot through reading this thread. Although I am sorry I

started the thread that has offended you.

July 23, 2001