Re: I finally had my Revision Surgery!!!/ X Post

October 27, 2003

Hi !

As you know, we've " spoken " before, but I'm so glad you posted your

story. Like you, I am wary of most doctors, and they have to prove

to me they're any good before I will completely trust them. Dr.

Gagner is, without a doubt, the best surgeon out there. Part of the

reason for this is that he does all the different WLS, knows them all

well, and is, therefore, in a position to diagnose problems and

recommend solutions specifcally suited for each patient. There is no

one better, IMNSHO.

I'm so glad you're doing well now!

hugs,

in NJ

open RNY 8/99

lap stomach transection 8/00

306/155/whatever

> I have been on some of the OSSG list on and off for the last 5

years, mostly as a lurker. When I was reading the story of some who

had similar experience as mine I would get angry. The anger was such

that I had to leave the list until I calmed down or get desperate

enough to come back on the list. I could not deal with my own

anger. I finally joined 4 months ago to OSSG-Graduate and OSSG-

revision determined to learn from the groups. I was surprised to see

how many people are in the same boat as I am now. Few years ago I

could count by one hand people who had large Stoma.

>

> I am not much of a writer but thought to write my story as some of

you might relate to it. I apologize for the length of the email. I

had lap RNY in Feb 98. The day I left the hospital I could consume

large amount of food without any restriction. I was savagely hungry

all the time. I lost 40 lbs in 8 months. I contacted my surgeon

many times but no response from him. I had two endoscopies done by

two Gastroenterologists and both told me I have no restriction.

Basically, the stoma is way too large to provide any restriction. I

sent the report to my surgeon hoping he would want to do revision.

During these 5 years I dieted many times, lost some weight and gained

it back, the same yo-yo you all know about. I desperately wanted my

surgeon to do my revision as I was scared another surgeon to do such

difficult surgery. I thought my surgeon knows what he has done in

the past and could fix it. How wrong I was!

>

> I have seen several surgeons for the last two years, each one had

different suggestion for me which I thought it was not taking care of

my whole problem. The following is the list of suggestions from each

one of them. I traveled to many states to meet these surgeons.

>

> 1. This surgeon wanted to Undo the previous RNY and redo the

Proximal RNY by open procedure. The surgery would take 6 hours and

it would be very difficult procedure. He thought from my surgery

report my surgery was not done right but he was not sure and thought

he has to open me to know what went wrong.

>

> 2. This surgeon wanted to convert it to Distal RNY without

touching my Stoma. He was willing to do it by Lap. I felt I still

would be savagely hungry and does not solve my whole problem.

>

> 3. This surgeon suggested conversion of RNY to DS by open

procedure. He said it is very difficult to convert RNY to DS because

where the old pouch and the new meet is going to be very weak

connection and possible leakage problem.

>

> 4. When I saw this surgeon I was 240 lbs. He suggested to put

Adjustable Band on my pouch. This would take care of large Stoma

problem. He said although I am 100 lbs overweight I am still not

obese enough to justify Distal RNY. He was not willing to change it

to medial. I was thinking to go for this procedure but after I

learned the success rate is not that great I didn't want to put

myself through another failure.

>

> 5. I saw a Bariatric surgeon at Stanford Medical Clinic. She was

extremely nice and spent over an hour with me even though she was not

going to do my surgery. She said she has never done a revision and

she wouldn't want me to be the first. She thought the only one who

could possibly help me would be Dr. Gagner in New York. She had rave

review about Dr. Gagner. It was important for me the procedure to be

done by Lap. I asked her if I could diet and lose the weight and she

gently reminded me " what use " ? " You would gain it all back again " .

After talking to her I was confirmed I need to do the revision.

>

> 6. I Saw Dr. Gagner on Oct. 1/03 after waiting for 7 months. The

office called me just few days before and had a cancellation. I took

it and made quick plan to fly to New York taking Red-eye. I thought

it would be half an hour consult. I was exhausted when I finally got

to Dr. Gagner's office. I told Dr. Gagner how I could eat large

amount of food without any restriction right after the surgery. He

read my surgery report as I was talking. Here are his comments:

>

> a) He said the type of connection the previous surgeon has done is

WRONG. You can not make small Stoma and Pouch with that kind of

connection. I was shocked. My first surgeon has good reputation on

his surgical skill.

>

> I also told him the sever pain I get in my right side under my

rib cage. I vomit all night until it finally resolves itself. I had

to go to emergency room twice. I thought it was my gallbladder but

all the tests came negative. He said this is not your gallbladder

but rather the food coming back and we know now this could cause

blockage eventually and nothing could be done about it unless we sew

the Mesentery.

>

> c) He told me I have to do revision and my options are: Distal

RNY, Adjustable band, DS and another RNY. He said he performs all of

these procedures by LAP. I asked him if he has done revision from

RNY to DS by LAP as this is very difficult procedure. He said, he

has done it successfully and a paper is coming out in this regard.

I had to see 4 surgeons to suggest 4 different procedures while he

covered all my options in one sentence.

>

> d) He said if he didn't have my surgery report, he would have

thought RNY has not worked for me so he would have advised other

methods. But since I never had a chance with RNY I should give it a

try. He said he would bypass more of my intestine but would not make

it Distal. I was 229 lbs at the time of my visit. I had lost some

weight with diet. Basically he was going to close the old Stoma and

the opening of the intestine and make new one. He would make the

pouch a lot smaller than previously. He also was going to sew the

Mesentery. All and all it was going to be a major revision surgery

but still easier than DS with less of risk. The procedure to be done

by LAP.

>

> e) He asked me what weight do I want to be? I told him I just

want to stop being savagely hungry all the time. He had an opening

for Friday Oct. 3 for the surgery and this was the only opening he

had. Apparently, he had a cancellation. I was so impressed with

Dr. Gagner's knowledge, I trusted him and his judgment fully. This

hardly ever happens to me. I really believe he is the best.

>

> What I thought to be half an hour of consult ended up to be 9 hours

of pre-op tests. Everything moved so fast, I was dizzy. My brain

was not functioning. I was going through major revision surgery in

two days with no family member or friend and far from home. It was

too late to ask for an angel. I wished I had my lap-top and I could

write to this list but I didn't have my laptop and no time at all. I

had to see a Cardiologist for stress test to get clearance for

surgery the same day without any previous appointment. The staff

worked hard to get me going from one place to another.

>

> I think the surgery took about 3 hours. When I woke up in the

recovery room I was very alert. The pain from the surgery didn't

seem to bother me but the back pain was excruciating. The pain med

was not working on it. I asked to get up and walk but I was told I

can't do it in the recovery room. I had to wait until I get to my

room which seemed for ever. The Bariatric Bed was great. It was

easy to make it like a chair so I could get into sitting position.

Apparently this bed costs $35,000.00. I walked every hour just to

get some relief from the back pain. I stayed 2 nights in the

hospital. Dr. Gagner wanted me to stay 3 nights but I felt good

enough to convince him to let me go. He kept reminding me that I

have gone through a major revision surgery but I felt okay. I hardly

used the pain med. 5 days later I saw Dr. Gagner and got permission

to fly. Thanks to Vicodane, my 6 hours of plane trip back was non

eventful.

>

> This surgery has been so different from my 1st RNY that I am at awe

at all times. I am hardly hungry any more. I drink my protein drink

in the morning and twelve hours later I remember my second Protein

drink. I have lost 22 lbs in 23 days. I am a very slow loser and he

reminded me with revision the weight loss is a lot slower. With my

first RNY I only lost 5 lbs the first month.

>

> I am grateful I didn't do revision with my first surgeon because I

would have never known what went wrong in the first place. Plus my

problem would not have been resolved as I know of people he has

revised with the same hunger problem. Sometimes what we wish is not

to our best interest.

>

> I hope my experience is helpful to some of you!

>

> M.

> Lap RNY 98

> Revision Lap Medial RNY Oct. 3/03

>

October 27, 2003

, I have heard so much about Ganer, you were fortunate he took an

interest. He is a good man who keeps up on what is happening in the field.

This

would be a great post on the AMOS site.

Fay Bayuk

**300/171

10/23/01

Dr.

Open RNY 150 cm

Click for My Profile

http://obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=Bayuk951061008

October 27, 2003

Thanks for sharing . What a story.

/much comfort

Sherra

I finally had my Revision Surgery!!!/ X Post

> I have been on some of the OSSG list on and off for the last 5 years,

mostly as a lurker. When I was reading the story of some who had similar

experience as mine I would get angry. The anger was such that I had to

leave the list until I calmed down or get desperate enough to come back on

the list. I could not deal with my own anger. I finally joined 4 months

ago to OSSG-Graduate and OSSG-revision determined to learn from the groups.

I was surprised to see how many people are in the same boat as I am now.

Few years ago I could count by one hand people who had large Stoma.

>

> I am not much of a writer but thought to write my story as some of you

might relate to it. I apologize for the length of the email. I had lap RNY

in Feb 98. The day I left the hospital I could consume large amount of food

without any restriction. I was savagely hungry all the time. I lost 40 lbs

in 8 months. I contacted my surgeon many times but no response from him.

I had two endoscopies done by two Gastroenterologists and both told me I

have no restriction. Basically, the stoma is way too large to provide any

restriction. I sent the report to my surgeon hoping he would want to do

revision. During these 5 years I dieted many times, lost some weight and

gained it back, the same yo-yo you all know about. I desperately wanted my

surgeon to do my revision as I was scared another surgeon to do such

difficult surgery. I thought my surgeon knows what he has done in the past

and could fix it. How wrong I was!

>

> I have seen several surgeons for the last two years, each one had

different suggestion for me which I thought it was not taking care of my

whole problem. The following is the list of suggestions from each one of

them. I traveled to many states to meet these surgeons.

>

> 1. This surgeon wanted to Undo the previous RNY and redo the Proximal RNY

by open procedure. The surgery would take 6 hours and it would be very

difficult procedure. He thought from my surgery report my surgery was not

done right but he was not sure and thought he has to open me to know what

went wrong.

>

> 2. This surgeon wanted to convert it to Distal RNY without touching my

Stoma. He was willing to do it by Lap. I felt I still would be savagely

hungry and does not solve my whole problem.

>

> 3. This surgeon suggested conversion of RNY to DS by open procedure. He

said it is very difficult to convert RNY to DS because where the old pouch

and the new meet is going to be very weak connection and possible leakage

problem.

>

> 4. When I saw this surgeon I was 240 lbs. He suggested to put Adjustable

Band on my pouch. This would take care of large Stoma problem. He said

although I am 100 lbs overweight I am still not obese enough to justify

Distal RNY. He was not willing to change it to medial. I was thinking to

go for this procedure but after I learned the success rate is not that great

I didn't want to put myself through another failure.

>

> 5. I saw a Bariatric surgeon at Stanford Medical Clinic. She was

extremely nice and spent over an hour with me even though she was not going

to do my surgery. She said she has never done a revision and she wouldn't

want me to be the first. She thought the only one who could possibly help

me would be Dr. Gagner in New York. She had rave review about Dr. Gagner.

It was important for me the procedure to be done by Lap. I asked her if I

could diet and lose the weight and she gently reminded me " what use " ? " You

would gain it all back again " . After talking to her I was confirmed I need

to do the revision.

>

> 6. I Saw Dr. Gagner on Oct. 1/03 after waiting for 7 months. The office

called me just few days before and had a cancellation. I took it and made

quick plan to fly to New York taking Red-eye. I thought it would be half an

hour consult. I was exhausted when I finally got to Dr. Gagner's office. I

told Dr. Gagner how I could eat large amount of food without any restriction

right after the surgery. He read my surgery report as I was talking. Here

are his comments:

>

> a) He said the type of connection the previous surgeon has done is WRONG.

You can not make small Stoma and Pouch with that kind of connection. I was

shocked. My first surgeon has good reputation on his surgical skill.

>

> I also told him the sever pain I get in my right side under my rib

cage. I vomit all night until it finally resolves itself. I had to go to

emergency room twice. I thought it was my gallbladder but all the tests

came negative. He said this is not your gallbladder but rather the food

coming back and we know now this could cause blockage eventually and nothing

could be done about it unless we sew the Mesentery.

>

> c) He told me I have to do revision and my options are: Distal RNY,

Adjustable band, DS and another RNY. He said he performs all of these

procedures by LAP. I asked him if he has done revision from RNY to DS by

LAP as this is very difficult procedure. He said, he has done it

successfully and a paper is coming out in this regard. I had to see 4

surgeons to suggest 4 different procedures while he covered all my options

in one sentence.

>

> d) He said if he didn't have my surgery report, he would have thought RNY

has not worked for me so he would have advised other methods. But since I

never had a chance with RNY I should give it a try. He said he would bypass

more of my intestine but would not make it Distal. I was 229 lbs at the

time of my visit. I had lost some weight with diet. Basically he was going

to close the old Stoma and the opening of the intestine and make new one.

He would make the pouch a lot smaller than previously. He also was going to

sew the Mesentery. All and all it was going to be a major revision surgery

but still easier than DS with less of risk. The procedure to be done by

LAP.

>

> e) He asked me what weight do I want to be? I told him I just want to

stop being savagely hungry all the time. He had an opening for Friday Oct.

3 for the surgery and this was the only opening he had. Apparently, he had

a cancellation. I was so impressed with Dr. Gagner's knowledge, I trusted

him and his judgment fully. This hardly ever happens to me. I really

believe he is the best.

>

> What I thought to be half an hour of consult ended up to be 9 hours of

pre-op tests. Everything moved so fast, I was dizzy. My brain was not

functioning. I was going through major revision surgery in two days with no

family member or friend and far from home. It was too late to ask for an

angel. I wished I had my lap-top and I could write to this list but I

didn't have my laptop and no time at all. I had to see a Cardiologist for

stress test to get clearance for surgery the same day without any previous

appointment. The staff worked hard to get me going from one place to

another.

>

> I think the surgery took about 3 hours. When I woke up in the recovery

room I was very alert. The pain from the surgery didn't seem to bother me

but the back pain was excruciating. The pain med was not working on it. I

asked to get up and walk but I was told I can't do it in the recovery room.

I had to wait until I get to my room which seemed for ever. The Bariatric

Bed was great. It was easy to make it like a chair so I could get into

sitting position. Apparently this bed costs $35,000.00. I walked every

hour just to get some relief from the back pain. I stayed 2 nights in the

hospital. Dr. Gagner wanted me to stay 3 nights but I felt good enough to

convince him to let me go. He kept reminding me that I have gone through a

major revision surgery but I felt okay. I hardly used the pain med. 5 days

later I saw Dr. Gagner and got permission to fly. Thanks to Vicodane, my 6

hours of plane trip back was non eventful.

>

> This surgery has been so different from my 1st RNY that I am at awe at all

times. I am hardly hungry any more. I drink my protein drink in the

morning and twelve hours later I remember my second Protein drink. I have

lost 22 lbs in 23 days. I am a very slow loser and he reminded me with

revision the weight loss is a lot slower. With my first RNY I only lost 5

lbs the first month.

>

> I am grateful I didn't do revision with my first surgeon because I would

have never known what went wrong in the first place. Plus my problem would

not have been resolved as I know of people he has revised with the same

hunger problem. Sometimes what we wish is not to our best interest.

>

> I hope my experience is helpful to some of you!

>

> M.

> Lap RNY 98

> Revision Lap Medial RNY Oct. 3/03

>

October 28, 2003

, I am sooo happy you found Dr. Gagner. I know when your

first wls doesn't go well, everyone, including docs, are quick to

blame the patient. I applaud you for your perserverence in finding

the answers for yourself.

I am happy & grateful that you did post your story. It is stories

like yours that have helped me to find my answers. I am having my

revision Jan.6, 2004. I would not have ever considered a

surgical/mechanical problem if it had not been for posts like yours.

My original surgeon insisted it was me & I had accepted his answers

until you guys insisted I check it out & get another opinion.

I also know how imperative it is to find a knowledgable surgeon as I

feel I have found in my Dr. When he told me my pouch was made much

larger than he likes, I had assumed pouch size was standard (of

course I know now nothing is standard when it comes to wls - LOL).

Anyway, sorry for rambling. Just wanted to say thank you for

sharing. I also pray for your contintued success & health as you

continue your weight loss journey.

Lorraine