Lil' Scared of DS..... Please help!!!!

New here and I am researching the DS.  Yea it looks like the most lenient WLS of them all.  I am very concerned about complications of Surgery as I have researched them....WOW!!!

• Leaks
• Blood clots forming in the legs
• Pulmonary em bolus or blood clots traveling to the lungs
• Infection
• Abscesses
• Bowel obstruction
• Pneumonia
• Problems with healing at incision site

Additional potential complications include:

• Kidney failure
• Injury to the spleen which requires removal during surgery
• Bleeding

But this surgery is very attractive to me as it fits my lifestyle best, I'm only 33 and want to still enjoy life.  I really had to pursed my wife for Lap Band, now i think it will be impossible to push this on her with all the cutting and attaching.

1. I would like to know who has had complications of the surgeries and what were they?

2. How long were you in the hospital?  Out of work?

3. What the heck is "dumping"?

4. What kind of scar do you get from DS, especialy Lap DS????????

Thank you so much.

Hi,
I assume you are aware that the complications you have listed apply to all the WLS that have a malabsorptive component.  A few of these really had me scared.  My surgeon had to talk me down off the blood clot cliff.

1. I would like to know who has had complications of the surgeries and what were they?
I didn't have any of the complications you listed.  I puked a lot for the first year.  I also lost too much weight and went on enzymes for six months to stabalize. 

2. How long were you in the hospital?  Out of work?
I was supposed to be in the hospital until I passed gas or pooped.  I started puking on day three and had to stay until I could keep fluids down.  I got to go home on day 4 or 5, I don't remember exactly.  I was out of work for 4 weeks.  I could have used six because I taught daycare at the time.

3. What the heck is "dumping"?
Dumping is when food rushes through the lower end of an RNY pouch and ticks off your intestines.  It involves a racing heart rate, diarrhea, vomitting, passing out, and other not so pleasant stuff.  Not everyone who gets the RNY dumps and not every dumper dumps the same.

4. What kind of scar do you get from DS, especialy Lap DS????????
I had lap DS five years ago.  I had 4 or 5 little puncture type wounds where they stuck instruments.  I had one incision that sort of keyholed around my belly button where my surgeon stuck his hand in my belly.  He did hand assisted lap on me.

I hope all this helps.  I know it's a tough decision.

I see you are from PA.  I'm not sure how far away Baltimore is for you, but may I suggest you visit Dr. Schweitzer's website www.smallscar.com .  His site has some good information about all of the surgeries performed.

Another site to check out is www.dsfacts.com . This website gives a lot of first hand testimonials, as well as a lot of cited information about the DS.

The majority of the items on your list are risks of surgery in general.  They are not limited by any means to the DS.  WLS is something that you defenitely have to weigh risk vs. benefits.

Good Luck.

I was 33 when I had my DS! :) Now I'm an old fart at 35. Le Sigh.

But I can't resist me a survey!

1. I would like to know who has had complications of the surgeries and what were they?
       A couple weeks after surgery, a spot in my incision became infected and a litle hole opened in my incision and green pus would just gush out of it. It was very scary. I'd be laying down, then I'd sit up and suddenly I was a pus gusher of green stinky goo. It was awful. I remember DH rushing me up to Dr. Rita's office while I held a maxi pad to my incision. They drained it, packed it, and gave me some antibiotics. I walked around with a maxipad taped to my tummy for a good two weeks and then it healed up. Now it's just an afterthought. I haven't had any issues since except for a tiny kidney stone last year, but I don't think it was related. My sister has them, too.

2. How long were you in the hospital?  Out of work?
  I had my surgery on a Tuesday and went home on Thursday. I took 4wks off work, worked from home (network engineer) for 2wks, and then felt good enough to go back to the office. I had a sit-down job so it wasn't intense or anything.

3. What the heck is "dumping"?
       Something those wild and crazy RNY people do. I hear it's really awful. We don't have the anatomy that causes such a horror. Thank Dog.

4. What kind of scar do you get from DS, especialy Lap DS????????
        I don't know about a Lap DS. I had mine open and I have a scar that starts about an inch below my sternum and goes just a little past my belly button. Then I have a scar about the size of a dime where the J-tube was.

The complication of surgery itself comprise much of the list they give you. The best thing to do is exactly what you are doing now-research. research the doctor and what his/her record and procedures are as well as the surgery.

I was 35 when I had my surgery and the quality of life that I have is so much better that I can't even tell you. Look at my (and others) profiles if you care to read more and see pictures.

As for your Questions

1. I would like to know who has had complications of the surgeries and what were they?
I had a leak at about 4 weeks out. My surgeon handled it very quickly after discovering it and I had no long term effects from it.

2. How long were you in the hospital?  Out of work?
I was in the hospital from my surgery on Friday until Sunday at about noon. I do not work, but I went to the zoo at 6 days out and walked all day long. Pain was very minimal.

3. What the heck is "dumping"?
Dumping does not apply to DS patients because we keep our pyloric valve active and it prevents it. Dumping happens with the RNY when you eat carbs and they literally dump into your system too quickly and cause you to feel flulike symptoms. It is very unpleasant, I hear, but with the DS-no wories there.

4. What kind of scar do you get from DS, especialy Lap DS????????
I had lap DS-I have 5 tiny scars (maybe .25 inches or so each). They are not that noticeable at all.

Good luck in your search. Hugs-amy

I'm 36 and to say that I'm enjoying life is an understatement! Like your wife, my husband was not happy about the "cut and paste" of my insides. Now, he says "I was an idiot". He's quite pro-DS and has convinced his sister to persue the DS as well.

To answer your questions:
1. I would like to know who has had complications of the surgeries and what were they?

ZERO complications. I had a picture perfect recovery and weight loss process. Don't think it's all butterflies and kittens though because others have reported that the first few weeks after surgery totally suck. For me, it wasn't a big deal.

2. How long were you in the hospital?  Out of work?
I was in from Thursday to Sunday. I could have went back to work on week 3 but took 5 weeks off.

3. What the heck is "dumping"?
Not relevant to the DSer.

4. What kind of scar do you get from DS, especialy Lap DS????????
I had my done lap. At my one week follow up, my surgeon looked at my abdomen and asked "did you even HAVE surgery?" That should give you an idea of my lack-of scars.

 I really had to pursed my wife for Lap Band, now i think it will be impossible to push this on her with all the cutting and attaching.

My husband was the same way.  He was totally against me having WLS, but I really took my time and researched and explained the different surgeries to him and he came around.  He wasn't thrilled but he stood by me.

I am thinking your wife doesn't realize how common and serious band complications can be.  While DS is often called the most risky surgery (although I don't believe it's any more dangerous than the other surgeons if your surgeon is excellent), the band info booklet outright states that it is not a lifetime product.  That means that when you get a band, it's pretty much a given that you will have to have another surgery to have it removed and/or replaced at some point, and who knows, maybe even more than once.  And the band, while touted as non-invasive, creates a lot of scar tissue and can slip or erode. 

The whole idea of rearranging my intestines and trimming down my stomach was very daunting.  But the more I read, the more I understood that those of us who are morbidly obese really can benefit from malabsorptive procedures, because they tweak our faulty metabolism in ways I am not technical enough to explain at 12:30 a.m.  LOL. 

At any rate, I'm going to be three months out of my DS surgery on the 7th of January, and I've had a pretty smooth recovery overall.  I am able to eat tasty, satisfying food and I feel full and satisfied.  I feel better than I have in years and I feel confident I will be able to reach a much more normal BMI than I ever could have with another surgery or dieting alone.  Good luck and keep reading!

The complications you have listed would be possible with ANY WLS. Including, for the most part lap band. They are ALL serious, major surgeries.
    Dumping - RNY only, not DS or lap band. But lap band doesn't do nearly as well, on average, for weight loss as DS, and not even as well as RNY. And lap band also has a lot of late risks that the others don't have - band slipping, erosion of band into stomach or liver, problems with port, some people never get the fills to just the right spot, etc. And removing it, when necessary, is major surgery as well. They make it sound so simple and easy. It isn't.

    It's important to look at the potential benefits of the surgery as well as the potential risks. DS has the best average excess weight loss, best maintainence of that weight loss, and best resolution of comorbidities of any WLS. It's vital to look at the longterm, not just how "easy" the surgery is, or how fast you'll be out of the hospital. And you already figured out that in terms of eating and lifestyle, the DS is, as you put it, the most lenient. That's important when you consider that you wil live with your surgery for the rest of your life (well, unless you get a lap band and later get it removed).

    So keep on reading and researching. You can learn a lot from the group here about what life is like with the DS. Most of us think it's pretty good! I hope you will, too.

 

Larra

I have not had the DS yet, but am on my way. If you care to, read the revision board and see why lapbanders and RnYers are looking for a revision. We have several on this board who have been revised from one thing or other. And they have been revised or will be revised to a DS. That is where one goes when all else fails if they were not smart enough to get the DS to begin with. I wish you well and keep researching.

Hi and welcome. The possible risks you listed are basically the same for RNY and DS. Lap Band is a little less invasive but also has lower excess weight loss stats.

1. I would like to know who has had complications of the surgeries and what were they?
I had open DS in March. I have been complication free apart from 2 incidents of my bowels twisting a bit, but it resolved itself on its own both times.

2. How long were you in the hospital?  Out of work?
In hospital 4 nights. Wasn't working at the time I had surgery.

3. What the heck is "dumping"?
Check out http://www.dsfacts.com/Comparison-of-DS-and-RNY.html
RNYers can dump because of how their body is altered and food moved into their intestines. DSer's stomachs function normally; the pylorus controls food moving into the intestine so DSers don't dump.

4. What kind of scar do you get from DS, especialy Lap DS????????
Mine was open, I am 10 months post-op, my scar is from my sterum to my belly button and has healed really nicely.

Keep researching! For more on the DS check out the web site in my signature.

Bev

Edited for spelling like usual ;)