Too Tall For a Gastric Bypass?

[cristobal 46]

I'm just looking for feedback possibly from people who've had gastric bypass that are taller than 6'1". The reason why I am looking for info is because my surgeon said in my consultation that being 6'3" might have a higher chance of a complication when trying to attach the small intestine and stretching it to the stomach as per gastric bypass surgery. He suggested I think about this procedure or the gastric sleeve. The sleeve being better for my height as it usually results in less complications because they really dont do anything with small intestine. so im leaning towards the sleeve though gastric bypass has faster results...

i would greatly appreciate any feedback from tall men who've had either the gastric bypass or sleeve. results would be greatly appreciated as well. i have to make a decision in a couple of months and i want to get as much info before then. thank you much in advance for all your help.

April 13- 6'3" 453lbs

[336Mike 549]

Huh...I never heard that from my Dr. and I'm 6'5" and had the sleeve.

VSG 10/11/17
HW = 360
SW = 292
GW = 220 3/7/18
CW = 211.6 (6'5") [emoji256]

[RichMack 35]

I'm 6'3" and had my Gastric Bypass 27 days ago.

[cristobal 46]

Yes, my initial operation procedure was to get the gastric bypass because the surgeon at the time said it was the best for my weight. This was 4 years ago. Unfortunately the way the program was run I was denied because of insurance errors. I jumped off the bandwagon and stopped all steps to clearing the OK for surgery.

After my recent injury, I decided to Kickstart the surgery again. This time I went in with the same mentality as before except my Dr was now very thorough in his way of working. He asked me questions and I also did as well as I could think of. But he said that because of my height at 6'3" he would have to stretch the intestine up a little higher than most of his patients, which had a higher risk of leakage after surgery.

He said that even though the risk of surgery is almost all the same in most cases, this was one of the things other surgeons have seen in other patients doing the gastric bypass who are tall that had a problem with leakage.

He suggests I think about sleeve only because of this minor risk. The risks are always low but lower if I go with this.

Unfortunately I can't find much feedback from other people who have had a sleeve surgery. I'm still looking for more answers.

I appreciate all responses. Thanks...

[RickM 1,747]

I have not heard this objection before, and there are a couple of tall RNY guys in other forums that I monitor. However, I do tend to take surgeons' advice seriously, even if it may differ from the average or norm - if he has had some experiences that would cause him to make such a suggestion, that should be considered. It may be a general thing within the industry that isn't mentioned much to outsiders, or it may be something specific to him. For instance, we sometimes hear of surgeons threatening to "close you up and walk away" if a patient hasn't complied with their "liver shrinking" pre-op diet (though I have never heard of this threat carried through) while other surgeons have no such problems and make no such impositions on their patients - they seem to have no problem working around a fatty liver that may be an issue for others - differing experiences most likely.

The upshot of this is that this may well be something specific to this surgeon and not a big deal to someone else. If one is inclined to favor the bypass, then a second opinion from another surgeon would be a good idea. If you really click with this surgeon and want to follow through with him doing your surgery, I would take his advice seriously and lean toward the sleeve.

Overall, both procedures yield similar results, though as you note, the bypass may get you there a bit sooner - but is that such a big deal on something that you will be living with the rest of your life? The bigger point in my mind is getting what fits you best. All of these procedures have their advantages and disadvantages, and they all have something of their own personality - you want to get what fits you best

[cristobal 46]

I will be sitting in on my wife's surgeon consultation as well. She wants to go to my mother in law's dr with a different hospital. I'll try and get his opinion on my situation.

This particular surgeon is different than the prior. The previous surgeon just said, call us when I was finished with my "check off" list. I think that's why I wasn't approved before. I only met him twice. At the consultation and then at my endoscopy. I had questions but he was really selling me on the gastric bypass. He literally was like it's fast, quick and you'll lose weight healthily. It was like an advertisement.

With my current surgeon, we talked for an hour of the ifs and what's. He's the medical director and only surgeon at my hospital qualified for this surgery with lots of experience. But I never felt rushed even though I know he's a busy guy. So I'm going with him.

He asked me to check out for more info and testimonials of patients with the sleeve on my own here as well on the website.

I've been reading like crazy this topics on sleeve surgery an stuff. Thank goodness this place was here.

I've got some time to collect info.

Thanks.

[RickM 1,747]

It sounds like you found a good guy to work with, one who isn't rushing you into a decision - things tend to work best when your mind is firmly made up on the right path rather than being "sold" on what the doc likes best. It looks like the height/leakage issue is a minor one, that is more of a tie breaker if everything else works out to a split decision between the two.

[KimTriesRNY 1,853]

Where’s Sam at? He had a bypass and I think he’s 6’4”.

Never heard of this before.

[krash11 35]

I can give you my personal Sleeve experience. I was banded in 2008 and lost 101 lbs. In 2015, i started having slippage and the Dr. recommended the sleeve. He told me there would be restriction and the hunger centers would be taken out. Well here we are over two years later and i have gained half my weight back. I am always hungry so i end up snacking all day. Even if I can get full, it only lasts for an hour or so then i'm eating again. I'm getting my pre-op testing done now to go to a full by-pass. I know the sleeve works for some but from my point of view, i would never recommend it and wish I had never done it.

[Mattymatt 491]

Where’s Sam at? He had a bypass and I think he’s 6’4”.
Never heard of this before.

I'm 6'4" and had RNY. Sounds like some bad info got passed around. Never heard of anyone being too tall.

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