Anna, I just looked at your profile.  Have you had the DS yet?  If not when do you plan to have it?

Anna, I had this surgery 8 1/2 years ago with Dr. Rutledge and I had no complications.  Dr. Rutledge can perform this surgery with his eyes closed!  However, I am having a revision surgery on July 10th to the true RNY.  The reason for the revision is regain.  I am not going to blame the surgery.  Unfortunately, I slipped back into bad habits and weight regain was the results.  This could happen with any surgery.  The reason I am using the surgeon I chose for the revision is because he knows all about the procedure and even trained under Dr. Rutledge for awhile when Dr. R was in NC.  He has performed revision of the mgb to the RNY.  I plan to learn from my past mistakes with this upcoming surgery.  I will no longer think of surgery as the "magic cure" but a tool.  If you choose the mgb with Dr. Rutledge you will be in good hands.  He is an excellent surgeon. Just make sure you have good after care, see a nutritionist, and go to support group meetings.

Glad to hear the MGB worked out so well with your family.  I had no problems with Dr. Rutledge as my surgeon.  He's very competent.  However, the mgb did not work out so great for me in the long run.  Hopefully, God willing I will go through this revision with no complications and have great long term results.  I think after failing my first surgery I am a little more wiser and realistic about weight regain and changing eating habits.

Sandy, Thanks for answering my question.  Do you have the yahoo website?  When I had the surgery 7 1/2 years ago I was very pleased!  I had no complication and really no pain.  I was about 245 post-op when I had the surgery.  I got down to about 165 at my lowest.  Also, when I had the surgery insurance paid.  About year 3 I started putting on weight and I had a hard time trying to loose.  I noticed that used to get very hungry and could graze alot.  I had a network of fellow mgb'ers who had surgery around the same time frame I did or earlier and almost all of us have regained most if not all of our weight back.  I know of 3 who have had a revision.  I am having my revision next month to the RNY because I found a doctor who has lots of experiences in revisions and I have talked personally with some of those patients.  I'm hoping the 2nd time around is a charm and I don't have to worry about this kind of weight regain again.  Now, I am not blaming the surgery for my failure but I have talked with several weight loss surgeons who are familiar with this procedure and all of them said that this surgery has a high failure rate in the long term.  I do understand that every surgery can have a failure rate and everyone must do their part to make the surgery a success.  One thing to keep in mind that on these forums most people are still in the "honey moon" phase of the surgery or no more than 3 years out.  It was year 3 that I began to struggle.  To sum all of this up because I am a revision patient I am going to learn from my shortcomings of the first surgery.  I will not get over confident and think that the surgery just cured me.  The surgery is a treatment for obesity and I am going to really work on some of my bad eating habits.  Hope this helps. 

Kelly, Since Clos.net does not accept insurance and you cannot selfpay you really need to look at other options such as the lapband or the RNY.  I had the mini gastric bypass 7 1/2 years ago (when they accepted insurance of course).  I am having a revision surgery next month to the RNY.  Good luck on your choice.

Kahlua, I had the mini gastric bypass 7 years ago.  Believe it or not insurance use to cover this procedure but quit.  I had no complications or problems.  However, I never lossed amount of weight I probably should have with this surgery and I have regained about 50 lbs of my weight back.  I am seeking a revision.  I am talking with a Dr. in Florida who knows all about this procedure and as soon as I told him what I had he stated that I needed the true RNY.  The MGB is known for having a high rate for regain.  I am not trying to talk you out of what you are doing but I thought you should know the truth.  You really should connect with people who are 5 or more years out to see how successful they are with not regaining.  I know of several personally who have did the regaining.