has anyone had to have a total gastrectomy as a revison

Now my surgeon looked and said my option is a total gastrectomy. Isn't that kind of drastic ?

I thought total gastrectomy is for serious cases like tumors/cancer... Etc. I'd go get a second opinion asap.

That is very drastic... I would get a second opinion... 

I have a subtotal gastrectomy, which is the removal of my entire stomach except for the pouch.  My original surgery involved a sleeve which was very large.  My understanding is that resleeving can be risky due to the potential of leaks.

I have spoken with others who had the same thing so it must not be that uncommon.  For myself if I didn't know I had my stomach removed I wouldn't know it except for getting full much faster.  Fortunately I haven't had any negative side effects.

However, I wouldn't recommend it because of the permanence.  I didn't educate myself before my revision.  I had the revision 8 days after my appointment with the surgeon due to severe side effects I had and was desperate to feel better.

I would definitely get another opinion before I had a perfectly healthy stomach removed.

Unable to edit the above post.

I just looked at your history so the part about a perfectly healthy stomach does not apply.

I also suffered from severe GERD, which was completely cured after my revision.

I still would get another opinion, though.  Something I wish I had done if I wasn't feeling so sick and desperate to get better.

Okay I can be kinda of misunderstood on here, but I'll take my chances in hopes of it helping. 

In my case where I had just a straight takedown and had no other options if I wanted to live, I just went with it. I do have social media buds who have had total gastrectomies and there are support groups both for reversed peeps and those with gastrectomies post wls on Facebook. 

NO surgeon wants to do this unless as a last resort option. I'm thinking you must have some really bad complications for them to be considering this as an option for you. 

A trend being in the "reversal" world so to speak is reversing rny and then doing a sleeve, not necessarily from worrying about a weight regain perspective but because most of us reversed peeps are ending up with gastroparesis and some unfortunately post reversal end up with still not being able to control their blood sugars and nutrtional deficiencies and still are in need of feeding tubes, but they are still alive and I don't know any and most people who have had a need for a reversal in the last 6 years and are on social media, they usually find me, are not sorry they went through their reversal as they would've died, too. 

I'm not on Facebook very much, but if you want to add me and remind me to add you to the groups, you can find me on there as Lisa Kasen. 

I'm not saying don't research it more, on whether or not to have a gastrectomy but I guess one thing to think about is if you'd trust that surgeon to do any other surgery such as a bariatric surgery on you and they are suggesting this as a remedy, to give it a lot of consideration. 

I'm really sorry you are going through this. 

:(

Have you checked into having a DS?  That would be an option.  You need to talk to a surgeon that does a DS as a revision.  If a surgeon doesn't do the DS they will discourage it.  RUN don't walk to a DS surgeon!

I'm not trying to pry but I also did end up going back to your other posts on here. And saw your scheduled for some kind of revisionary surgery, sometime soon. Like on Tuesday. 

I'd rather put this out there, so if you decide to get a 2nd opinion, based upon what I've seen on judgement calls from surgeons, such as not reversing a rny until a patient is like 80 lbs and on a feeding tube and not tolerating a reversal because they waited too long but at least their still alive, even though some of them wished they weren't, I'm not saying clinical judgement doesn't matter, but some bariatric surgeons can be so fat phobic, that they don't realize the risk effect. 

I've seen people unfortunately gain weight with no stomachs, when a gastrectomy is performed. Truthfully I did end up with horrific heartburn post reversal, in addition to the gastroparesis. I didn't bring it up, because a total gastrectomy is so drastic, that I figured there was some kind of reasoning why a reversal wasn't thrown out there. 

I managed with horrible (and nearly life ending complications) to gain an enormous amount of weight back. Due to meds. Because I threw up everything I ate.

You and I are similar in that you're almost 15 years post rny, too. 

At my heaviest, 8 months prior to my reversal in 2010, when I gained almost ALL my weight back, as sick as I was, I begged for a revision. My surgeon not only refused to revise me, but at the time I needed a reversal (I had a lap rny and an open rny reversal) to save my life, while I wasn't on those meds and had lost almost 50 lbs, from a gastric bypass reversal standpoint I was a size 16 from the size 24 I was when I begged for the revision, 8 months late, I probably was one of the heaviest people ever to have a straight takedown. 

I did see you made a comment about weight gain. It's subjective in this community though. Some people gain 20 lbs and feel like they failed, some people can gain like I did, even without being able to tolerate eating at all without throwing up everything and while regain a lot of weight, I had the labs and the blood pressure of a person starving to death. I also had horrible issues with fainting and falling everyday.In addition to projectile vomiting dozens of times a day and horrific severe abdominal pain  

I'm honestly not trying to pry. And we walk a slippery slope as wls peers giving you what's bordering on serious medical advice. While my social media buds who've had gastrectomies are happy to be alive, it's still a hard way to live. If you're having issues in addition to a rny that fell apart, with other issues such as severe malabsorption, I'm wondering how they plan on making sure you absorb vitamins again (I had a have a ton of IV infusions both inpatient during my medical admissions for my complications for ulcers, of not just protonix but ferritin and banana bags). 

Something about your cir****tances sound familiar, I don't know if I've talked to you here, before. But please, before you have any surgery, unless you're in an acute situation, where a surgeon needs to operate on you immediately, I'd really try to research this more with hopefully other people.And another bariatric surgeon, If you message me private or you're more than welcome to email me at my private email at [email protected]. 

The only reason why I'm going to this extent, is that weight gain again, is subjective. I've been in the situation though of being horribly sick , nearly dying but fat again. It wasn't fun, but my surgeon when he refused to revise me said BRILLIANTLY that I'd be more at risk of any revisonary type of surgery, than being Morbidly Obese could ever be at risk to me, when I asked for a revision. 

So I'm hoping you are getting comprehensive answers, you are due them, as far as what your surgeon thinks a complete removal of your stomach will do for you. And how they plan if they really feel it's your only option to make sure that you don't end up with serious side effects. 

Again, not trying to push a reversal which hasn't been thrown out nor scare you terribly. I really hope you can figure this out though before being put in cir****tances that will only cause you more problems in the end and isn't necessarily a guarantee that you'll lose weight. 

You just have too much to lose without getting more answers, first.... 

Please do keep me/us updated.. We care... Huge Hugs... 

You may have to drive, but I'd look for a revision surgeon.

Scott