Gastric Steeve

Hello.  I was just wondering how everyone feels about having the Gastric Sleeve surgery.  I am planning on having the surgery and I would appreciate any comments.

Hi! I had the VSG a few weeks ago and currently I am thrilled. My room mate had RNY 2 days after me so I've been able to compare our recoveries. They are both awesome procedures but my recovery has seemed a lot smoother (that may just be an individual thing) and I like that I don't have to take all the vitamins and supplements that he has to. I was self-pay so the VSG made more sense for me financially too. If you post on the VSG forum you'll get a lot more people who can tell you all the great things about it. Just wanted to reply to your post.

Just had VSG - so far it is awesome.  Go to the VSG forum - you will find a lot of enthusiastic "sleevers" -

My doc says as soon as the more long term data comes in, this may be the new gold standard surgery!

Hi there,
I am approved to have VSG surgery w/Dr. Macik through June of next year, and am trying to work up the courage as I cancelled my original surgery date.  How did it go with him?  Did he visit you at hospital bedside to give you updates on your health?  How has it been since your surgery?  Thanks for sharing your comments; it's very helpful.

Hi - I had the VSG with Dr. Macik on 7/29/09 and so far have lost 55 lbs.  He is a great surgeon!!  He is on the quiet side however, if you have questions, he happily answers them and doesn't make you feel bad for asking.  He did visit me at the bedside and actually had me stay at the hospital a little longer than I planned due to complications from the pain meds.  Right after I got home, I was having problems wtih reflux but called his office and was able to get OTC meds.  Not sure if you have already had your surgery but I can tell you that I have no regrets and have 2 close friends who have had the surgery in the last month with Dr. Macik who love him as well.  He doesn't baby you but will support you and help you make the transition.  If you make it into his office look at the books in the waiting room that have notes from past patients. 

 

Best of Luck on this journey!!!

I noticed you live in Atlanta.  I've been talking to Dr. Scott Davis over at Emory.  Tell me if you don't mind how you settled on your surgeon versus others.
Thanks so much!!!!!

A lot of people do phenomenally well with it with weight loss, at least in the short term.  There's not enough long term research to support its efficacy farther out, though, so I am leery of it.  As you know, the sleeve can stretch over time, increasing your eating capacity.

Not trying to start any surgery war as I know everyone's choice is very individual, but have you looked into the DS?  You get the sleeve component as well as the malabsorption which helps to maintain your weight loss several years out.  Just saying to look at all available options before you decide.

Edited:  Holy **** I did not realize this thread was so old... lol  Leaving my response, though, for anyone else who may peruse.

Even though this is an old thread I'll respond.  I'm 18 months post op with the sleeve and I love it.  I originally had a band 3 years ago and absolutely hated it.  But my sleeve rocks.

I'm not really worried about regain, I totally changed my diet and ways of doing things.  I don't eat crap anymore, mostly produce.  I am a grazer but considering I graze on veggies it's doable.

The one reminder I would give anyone is that most of us got fat on white carbs, not broccoli.  No WLS type fixes white carbs, that one is all up to us.

My sleeve was done on September 15, 2008.  I was over a 50 BMI, and was 65 years old when I had the surgery.

I now weight 180 pounds, and I no longer have Type II Diabetes, I no longer have high Cholesterol & High Triglycerides, I no longer have to take any medication for high blood pressure.  Prior to surgery, I was on the maximum allowable dosages of 4 different oral diabetes drugs, and was on medication to control my cholesterol. triglycerides and hypertension.

3 weeks post op, I was off of all medication for the above.

I lost my weight over 16 months, had on 3 week stall and several much shorter ones.  I did NOT adhere to my diet plan rigidly, but i stayed pretty close to it.

I walked for exercise, and that is ALL of the exercise that I did.

I found losing the weight to be pretty darn easy, partly because I did not expect miracles, and I didn't get shook up when a stall happened. They happen to everyone, and it is not something to get all discombobulated over.

A properly done VSG does NOT stretch over time, unless you grossly overeat regularly.  To do that, you would have to eat to the point of becoming very sick, over and over and over again.  As far as I am concerned, anyone that could (or would) do that has problems that wls will NOT help.

Contrary to what others say, there is a great deal of medical literature about the sleeve.  This type of surgery has been done for well over 70 years, to treat stomach cancer and severely bleeding ulcers.  You can find it in the literature as a "partial gastrectomy".

You will find all kinds of inaccurate information being spread by DS patients. Why they do this, I do not know.  I have my suspicions that they have a bad case of "buyers regrets", but I don't know that for sure.  If you really want to know about that surgery, I suggest that you go to Google, and type in "Problems with the Duodenal Switch".  You will find hundreds of articles, many by DS surgeons, that outline the many significant problems with that surgery.

The reason why they think the sleeve stretches is because until very recently, the sleeve portion of their surgery DID stretch a great deal.  But that was because the surgeons left the stomach more than 3 times the size that VSG surgeons make it.
 
In the very early days of doing 'vertical sleeve gastrectomy" as a "stand alone" weight loss procedure, the surgeons were making the stomach as large as DS surgeons did.  They quickly discovered that this didn't work very well, and they made the residual stomach much smaller to start.  This solved the problem.

I can not eat any more today, than I could at 4 months post-op.  I can eat about 3/4 of a cup of semi-liquid foods, about 1/2 a cup of most foods and about 1/4 of a cup of very dense foods.  I can drink 6 ounces of water at a time, and another 6 ounces about 15-20 minutes later.

I can also eat ANYTHING that I choose to eat.  I can take any medication, there are no limits at all.  I do have to take some irritating medications with a little food or milk, but I had to do that pre-op too.

My weight has not varied more than 3 pounds since I reached goal.

Personally, I would wish that every patient could get a sleeve.  It is as effective as an RnY, but has none of the limitations that bypass surgery does.

Hi Old Medic
What a wonderful and informative post.  I am scheduled for VSG on Jun 02 and reading your post verified to me (in my mind) that I made the right choice (for me).  

Carol