Doctor will not do a Roux en Y, now I am here!

For several years now I have bben preparing myself for the Roux en Y bypass surgery.  I live in Ontario ans as far as I knew it was the only WLS covered by the government. My excitement was crushed last week when I finally met the surgeon. He said he would not do the RNY due to some medical concerns.  I was so disappointed.  He told me he would be willing to do the gastric sleeve.  It was the first time I really heard of the surgery.  I left his office feeling very discouraged.  Since then, I have been reading this forum and researching on the internet the gastric sleeve.  Most people on this forum seem very happy with this surgery and their results.  I was very surprised to see the one year updates with photos.  So many of you have done amazingly.  Congrats!  My doctor said that with the RNY most people lose about 80-85% of their body fat while with the gastric sleeve it is around 50%.  So many people on this forum have had much better results than just a weight loss of 50% of their body fat.  I guess I am wondering, can I manage to lose more than just 50% with the sleeve.  For you out there that have lost more than 50% did you do something above and beyond what your surgeon had asked you to do? 

My doctor says you can lose 77% of excess weight w/gastric bypass, 70% w/vertical sleeve and 45% w/lap band. The percentages w/gastric vs vertical sleeve seem very comparable.

Don't be discouraged; vertical sleeve from my research appears to be much safer and offer perks that are lifelong. For ex, down the road if you need to take any type of NSAIDS, you can w/the sleeve. You keep all your anatomy in tack and everything flows naturally; you just have less of a stomach. Cancer and severe ulcer paitents have been able to survive of a stomach this size or no stomach at all and have functioned normally.

The biggest draw for me was when I went to have my blood work done preop at the same hospital where I had the procedure performed. I was told that they hardly after see vertica sleeve patients in w/complications but the RNY ones always come in because food gets stuck easily.

Do the research but you may find like I did that vertical sleeve will give you most of the same benefits w/fewer longterm risks. At least for me that  is why it took me 10 years to have this surgery because I was uncomfortable w/the complications from RNY.

The stats are skewed.  Early VSG's were actually DS patients where the VSG was the first part of a two part surgery. They performed the VSG which is a relatively safe operation on the DS patients to help them lose some weight before the DS surgery. So, those patients would lose only a portion of their excess body weight and then the rest after the DS.  These statistics are mixed in with those of getting just the straight VSG.  What you need to look at are your surgons practice stats, those are more predictive of the results you will see.  More recent data suggests at 1 year out the VSG is about the same as the RNY.  The differences between the two surgeries are many.  Some you may really like are:
1.  No blind stomach (How do you scope it if you have an ulcer or cancer)
2.  No real diet restrictions due to malabsorbation (this can be a two edged sword)
3.  None or greatly reduced hunger feelings.
4.  No medication restrictions
5.  The RNY adapts and the malabsorbtion tends to wane over time so weight gain is a risk
6.  Your internal plumbing stays in place so your pyloric value works as before.  This means very little risk of dumping but it does happen to some VSG folks.
7.  No stoma issues or other goofy things that can go sideways with an RNY

Keep browsing the board, I think you will be pleased with this surgery if you approach it right. Since there is no malabsorpotion, eating right is paticularly important, if you continue to eat carbs and suger, the VSG won't do you much good.

I have lost more than 100% of my excess weight by doing exactly what my surgeon said, and it wasn't that difficult to abide by his rules--600-800 calories, limit junk carbs, exercise, drink water.
I am so happy!

I think your doctor just doesn't know ALL the stats, but ultimately with ANY surgery you have...YOU will determine how much you lose and how well you keep it off.

Ms Shell

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post.  The more I read about the gastric sleeve the more I like it.  I look forward to starting this journey.   I am hopeful and eager to take on this battle once again with new force,

 Is your surgeon the one in your profile?  Is the government paying for you to have surgery in the US?  I'm wondering because of what your surgeon said about the statistics.  Are those his personal stats?  How many sleeves does he do?  My surgeon's stats (and I think lots of others show that the VSG is neck and neck with success with the RNY.  

Best of luck, I think lots of people would say you dodged a bullet getting a VSG instead of an RNY!

Like you, originally I wanted a RNY and like you, my surgeon refused to do it because of other medical concerns... and I ended up here.... but I think it is the best thing that could have ever happened to me.  I knew very little about VSG until my doctor said he could do a VSG instead of a RNY.  (I outright refused a lapband.)  The more research I did, the better information I seemed to find and the more and more it seemed like a good fit for me.  My doctor said that the weight loss seems to follow closely with the RNY. 

And, I could not be happier with my sleeve!  I am 34 lbs from goal, 7 months out and have lost 94 lbs since surgery... more than 50% of my excess weight.  I followed my doctor's plan for the most part... with some occasional slip ups here and there...

Hope this was helpful in your decision/questioning.  Best wishes!

Lucky you! Rejoice!