My Surgery Story - Originally scheduled for a DS

[kellyhilde 0]

Here is the email I sent out following my surgery to family and friends.

Well I finally was released from the hospital on Sunday, Sept 14. I had some issues swallowing the liquid vicodin (way too sweet and thick). I had to wait to come home until I could swallow pills since the liquid wasn't hitting me very well.

First of all I have to say that the staff at Blodgett Hospital (in Grand Rapids) on the Bariatric Floor and Dr.'s Foote and Kemmeter (from MMPC Weight Loss Specialists) were awesome!!! The staff on the 4C were amazing. They were helpful in any way they could. They were encouraging and never once made you feel like you were taking the easy way out. Requests for assistance were promptly responded to. I saw Dr. Foote and Kemmeter in the hospital as well and they were also great for support and answering questions. While Dr. Foote was my surgeon, Dr. Kemmeter ended up in the OR with him as well because of some minor issues that came up.

The morning of the surgery was a little tense, but I think I was just anxious about getting shots and the full meaning of this surgery. I broke down a little bit in "pre-op" holding because the woman next to me had her blood thinner shot before I did and completely freaked out over it!! Like screaming in agony freaked out...needless to say when the nurse arrived to give me my shot, I was very nervous and broke out in tears. Needles freak me out and after having two kids, I have gotten use to shots, but after hearing her response, I was not looking forward to that particular shot. The nurse was very reassuring and informed that it was a small sting and the sting continued for a slight time after the shot. I calmed down enough and she gave me the shot. I had to stop myself from laughing too loud, because it was a piece of cake. Thankfully it didn't hurt because I had to have the shot twice a day while I was in the hospital.

The anestigiolost came in and asked a few questions and then got me ready to take back to the OR about 10:05. My surgery was scheduled for 10:15. I vaguely remember giving Tim and my mom a kiss and then the trip back to OR starting. I don't know if anything else was said, but my doctor's office gives a med in the IV that causes you to "forget" what happens going into OR.

I woke up in the recovery room around 4 pm. I dont remember much about that, except that it sounded like they were trying very hard wake me up. They also kept saying "everything is fine..." and I heard a few murmurings about how "she has been through a lot, but she is doing well." They took me up to my room and I talked briefly with Tim and my mom. Tim stayed for a while, but my mom had to leave to go get my kids some dinner. Tim told me a little bit about the surgery including the fact that I ended up with a "Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy" instead of a Duodenal Switch. I knew this was a possibility and I was okay with that.

I took my first walk around the floor around 8:30 and then repeated it every 4 hours. The nursing staff did a great job of trying to time their vital checks so they were right before my walking time.

The next morning Dr. Foote came in and explained a little bit more about what happened. It appears that I did need to have my gallbladder out. It was in bad shape and he felt that it would help with my recovery. Then they did the sleeve portion of the surgery, which involved removing a portion of my stomach. They also removed my appendix which is sometimes done in preparation for the Duodenal Switch. After removing the appendix, Dr. Foote noticed that I had something that is sometimes referred to as a "2nd appendix". It really isn't an appendix, but it needed to be removed. After doing this, he measured my intestines to make sure there was enough to perform the "switch". He was a little concerned about the intestines being too tight. While doing the measurements, he found a small mass on the outside of my upper intestine and the bottom of my stomach. At this point, I believe he called Dr. Kemmeter in to the OR for a second opinion. Because of the location of the mass and not knowing the nature, they determined that completing the Switch would not be in my best interest. If I had already had the switch done and then the mass needed to be removed, it may have caused some issues. They decided to just complete the first portion and give me the sleeve only. Because of all of the things they ended up doing, I did end up with a small drain in while I was at the hospital.

They did do a biopsy of the mass and sent it to pathology to be tested. On Friday morning, Dr. Foote informed that the mass was benign. He still wants me to see a specialist to monitor it, but he felt confident that it would not need to be removed.

I did great with getting around at the hospital. By sunday morning, I really felt like by the time I got home, I would be able to do without the pain meds. However, when they removed the drain tube, I realized that the pain meds would def be a necessity. Unfortunately I have to take 2 to lay down, but when I take 2, I have a harder time sleeping.

[kellyhilde 0]

I have since had an endoscopy done to check on the mass. It has not gone into the inside of my stomach or penetrated my stomach walls, so they feel at this time, they do not need to remove it.

Here is a little more background on why I decided to have WLS and the struggle I had with the surgery type.

In March 2008, my dad's best friend's daughter passed away from complications related to diabetes. She was 34 years old (the same age as me). Her death was one of three that I had had to deal with over a 2 year time period. The first in that period, was my 58 year old uncle who passed away unexpectedly from a massive pulmunary embolism. The 2nd was my grandmother who passed away after a long battle with Alzheimers.

At 35, I had been dealing with the reprocussions of PCOS since the age of 26. I was diagnosed with Insulin Resistance and had been on/off glucohphage for a number of years. I was slowly (or rapidly) creeping up to my highest weight ever! At my initial consult I was at 347 pounds! 5 years prior I had been at my lowest weight in 10 years at 286.

The death of my grandmother and uncle told me I was too young to let my weight take control of me and I really struggled over the next two years trying to get control of it. Then when someone my age died of complications from her diabetes, I realized that I needed to get control and the only way I could think of was WLS. I went to the seminar to WLS the end of March 2008. After the seminar I was adament that the VSG was the surgery for me. Dr. Foote led the seminar and he had nothing but wonderful things to say about the VSG. However, my insurance company felt otherwise.

After going back and forth with my insurance company for a few months, I finally decided to get approval for the RnY because financially there was no way we could afford to do self pay for the VSG. In July 2008, I was approved. Then I started rethinking my decision and after talking with a friend who had the DS, I asked to meet with dr. Foote to discuss the DS. In early August 2008, I met with Dr. Foote and expressed my concerns (one of which was the ability to take NSAIDS due to an elbow joint replacement). He agreed that if the VSG was not an option, the DS would be a better choice for me. We also talked about the possibility of the DS not being possible because of intestine length and I might end up with the VSG anyways. He also talked about the fact that there were not a lot of long term studies on the VSG and ultimately at my weight better results might be seen with the DS. Right before the appointment ended, he said to me "If you had your choice, insurance not an issue, after everything we have discussed, which surgery would you have?" Without hesitation, I told him "The VSG". I was scheduled to have the DS on 09/10/08. I was the last surgery of the day because I was a DS.

Fast forward 9 months later....

I am still glad that I have my Sleeve over the DS. yes there may be moments when I wonder if I will continue to lose, but I have lost 118 lbs so far and my blood pressure is great, my insulin levels are wonderful and I am more active now than I think I have ever been in my entire life! I have not lost weight in 3 months and at times it is frustrating. I know that some of it is my own doing, but I also think my body is trying to catch up. I lost 57% of my Excess Weight in 6 months! I think that I was right in line with the DS patients and the RnY patients.

I hope to lose another 15 lbs by my one year annivesary. And once there I would be fine with never losing another lb. Could I lose more? Probably...it is really a big question mark right now and I am okay with that.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

This was all an interesting read.

The mass they found, was it in your intestine or on the outside? Could it obstruct at some point?

Welcome to the forum!

[kellyhilde 0]

It was on the outside of my upper intestine.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

It was on the outside of my upper intestine.

Ahhh, that makes sense then why it was not removed. Do they have any reason to believe it will grow larger or do they think it will probably just stay the same?

[kellyhilde 0]

I think my surgeon was more worried that it would grow into my stomach or through my stomach lining. He is not worried about it growing out. he said he may consider an annual ultrasound of it to make sure it hasnt grown. But we would discuss it more at my 1 year appointment.

[burnsun 27]

Welcome! And I am glad you got the surgery you wanted. In a round about way!

[Elisabethsew 50]

Thank you for posting and congratulations on your success.