Question About Surgery Technique And Risk

[kthulhu 0]

Hello! I am pretty analytical by nature and have researching WLS for a few years and have decided on the VSG. My surgeon is Dr. Lauter in Bellevue WA. I am nearing the end of my insurance requirements and have been reading the most recent medical papers with meta studies and it seems like larger sleeves have fewer post surgery complications by a big margin. My question is: my surgeon uses a 34 fr and creates the new stomach loose against the tube. I have asked him to make mine a little larger than his normal to lower my risk for complications. He said he would take it under advisement but would not use a different bougie (which I totally understand, and I know he can enlarge the sleeve without changing the bougie size).

Has anyone else made a request like this? If so,How did you get a "commitment" from the doctor beyond just taking it under advisement?

Also, I would love to hear from others who have had surgery with Dr Lauter.

I do know that long term I may not lose as much weight as someone with a tighter sleeve, but I am ok with that. I have read several people on here who have bigger sleeves (ie 40 fr) and are doing really well.

I'm Male, 37, 278, 5'-10"

Thanks!

[cissiesue 119]

Just because someone's Dr used a 40fr bougie, doesn't necessarily mean theirs is bigger! The difference from a 34 to a 40 is a couple of millimeters!! I would have another talk with your surgeon and ask him what he suggests for your size! He had your best interest in mind i'm sure, so I'd personally leave it to him. You have him your two cents, I'd just keep reminding him, so it's in his head. Another idea is to mark on your tummy "larger sleeve please" lol I'm sure that will get your point across

[kthulhu 0]

Just because someone's Dr used a 40fr bougie' date=' doesn't necessarily mean theirs is bigger! The difference from a 34 to a 40 is a couple of millimeters!! I would have another talk with your surgeon and ask him what he suggests for your size! He had your best interest in mind i'm sure, so I'd personally leave it to him. You have him your two cents, I'd just keep reminding him, so it's in his head. Another idea is to mark on your tummy "larger sleeve please" lol I'm sure that will get your point across[/quote']

Thanks . He likes smaller sleeves but seems to agree that larger (as you said, even by millimeters) are less likely to leak or stricture. I am going to ask him at my next appointment to walk me through my specific procedure so I understand how he will approach it differently. Thanks again.

[Soon2BMiniMommy 92]

Lauter was my surgeon and he used a 32 on me. I seem to be able to eat a lot, lol!! Easily a half sandwich! I was worried at first, but I definitely have restriction. It was tight at the beginning, of course, but as the swelling went down, I was just fine. Can eat two scrambled eggs, too. Funny how different everyone is!!

Dr. Lauter told me that he specifically makes sure to avoid complications by keeping the area where the curvature is a little looser so as to avoid the stricture problem that smaller bougies can SOMETIMES create (the hourglass issue). Although he also stated that those problems were more prevalent in the beginning as the procedure was new.

Honestly, I would trust the surgeon. He has much more experience than we do. It's easy to scare ourselves, or convince ourselves of what we think is right from all we read. If you're like me, that is!! I did so much reading about this - stats, outcomes, etc. And I had all these preconceptions and expectations and I had it all planned out. But in the end, I trusted his expertise as he's done it more than me And it's been an absolute cakewalk!! So much easier than I ever could have hoped for! I almost wish I had more restriction!!

You can PM me if you have more questions, or concerns, or just whatevers. I had a hard time finding Lauter patients here, too, in the beginning.