VSG To Be Discontinued???
I mentioned to my therapist today that my paperwork for wls (vsg) was finally being submitted to insurance, to which she decided it would be a good time to tell me that she heard that the sleeve was to be removed from the list fo weight loss surgery for people. She said that there was a study done that most sleeve patients gained the weight back after surgery, and that they're looking for something to replace it before removing it.
Uhm... great timing.
Can anyone confrim or deny this, because I'm lost and slightly worried.
That is out of left field. I have seen a ton of research showing that our regain is comparable to Rny, or statistically about 5% of what you lost. Don't worry about it. Next time you see her, ask her for the research she is referring to.
Surgeon: Chengelis Surgery on 12/19/2011 A little less carb eating compared to my weight loss phase loose sleever here!
1Mo: -21 2Mo: -16 3Mo: -12 4MO - 13 5MO: -11 6MO: -10 7MO: -10.3 8MO: -6 Goal in 8 months 4 days!! 6' 2'' EWL 103% Starting size 28 or 4x (tight) now size 12 or large, shoe size 12 w to 10.5 150+ pounds lost
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People have been regaining with the bands and bypass for years (decades...) and they are still covered.
There is continual interest within the medical world in developing better procedures, as there should be, and this is how we have the DS and sleeve as normally approved options to the "incumbent" bypass and bands. The bands are fading in popularity due to their overall poor weightloss performance and high complication rates, but are still covered by insurance and Medicare. The DS is a well established alternative that generally works better than the bypass, but its complexity limits the number of surgeons who offer it; the sleeve by all evidence to date offers similar performance to the bypass in weightloss and regain in a somewhat simpler procedure that has fewer overall lifestyle and medical care limitations.
There are other procedures on the periphery that are claim to offer something better - the "mini-bypass" has been around for quite a while but has failed to gain much traction toward acceptance by the insurance industry or the ASMBS; the sleeve plication doesn't seem to offer any net benefits over the sleeve and likewise hasn't gotten much acceptance in the US. The most promising new kid on the block seems to be the SIPS/SADI/"loop DS" that hopes to offer performance similar to (or at least approaching) the DS in a simpler procedure that would be accessible to more surgeons (and hence patients), but it is still very much in the legitimate experimental stage.
There is always going to be something better over the horizon - how far over is any body's guess. The problem for us as patients with a problem is do we wait for this "something better" or take care of our problem now with what we have available?
Final note - no policy decisions such as proposed by your therapist are based upon "a study".
1st support group/seminar - 8/03 (has it been that long?)
Wife's DS - 5/05 w Dr. Robert Rabkin VSG on 5/9/11 by Dr. John Rabkin
I don't think that is accurate. The latest statistics I've seen (which is a while back) show that the sleeve is nearly as effective as the RNY. Hopefully, the medical community is continuing to research new and better ways to treat or even cure obesity, but I don't think the sleeve is in imminent danger of being discontinued
I'd look for a new therapist!
Carol
Surgery May 1, 2013. Starting Weight 385, Surgery Weight 333, Current Weight 160. At GOAL!
Weight loss Pre-op 1-20 2-17 3-15 Post-op 1-20 2-18 3-15 4-14 5-16 6-11 7-12 8-8
9-11 10-7 11-7 12-7 13-8 14-6 15-3 16-7 17-3 18-3
I think your therapist has been sampling his/her supply of Ritalin. This surgery has been around for more than 60 years. It was originally called a gastrectomy. It became normal for treating combat wounds, i.e soldiers who had been shot or hit by shrapnel in the stomach. they discovered as a side effect, those who had to have surgery for their combat wounds had the side effect of weight loss because of the reduced stomach size. I am not sure, but I think the 'gastric sleeve' surgery as it is referred to now has been in place for something like 20 years. I had the procedure done in November last year and I am at 123 pounds lost so far. It's not going anywhere. Anyways, sorry for the history lesson, but like others on this thread, I think you need to choose a different therapist, the one you have now clearly has a case of cranial-rectal inversion. Good luck.
