DOES POUCH SIZE MATTER?

[New&Improved 1,780]

Hey guys just curious if anybody here understands the science behind the pouch size?

I've read the standard pouch in a bypass is like a golf ball very small like 1oz?

My surgery said he does more like a mini sleeve thinner pouch 1oz to max 2oz? He said it's safer and easier to heal?

Ive read conflicting reports but does the pouch size make a huge difference in the long run?

If any veterans or medical people can explain??

Mike.

[elcee 3,341]

I have no idea what size or what shape my pouch is. My thoughts are that our surgeons have studied for a long time and have done these ops multiple times so they know what they are doing and what works best. Education is good and knowing what an op involves is good but we need to be careful we don’t take that too far and try to second guess our surgeon.

Trust your surgeon, don’t stress too much about the specifics and have faith that he or she will do what works best for you.

[NYJenn 1,463]

No clue, he never told me and I didn’t ask.

[RickM 1,747]

A guy asking if size matters?

Oh, sorry...

A 1 oz nominal starting size for a pouch is what I have always seen referenced. Does it matter, or the shape that the doc makes it? I don't know, but I suspect that both are minor points of technique, and the more important thing is how does your doc's patients do overall? As to the science of it, I think that this is one of those areas that leans more into artistry than science.

In sleeve land, some made a big deal over what bougie size did the surgeon use to form the sleeve, yet that seems to make very little difference overall; indeed, my wife had a relatively huge sleeve done for her DS, about double the initial volume of mine, and yet her meal size after fifteen years is roughly the same as mine - sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. Further, while an RNY pouch may start at about an ounce, a typical VSG sleeve starts at about 2 oz, yet after a few weeks or months, meal size is about the same for either.

From what I have seen over the years, with both RNYs and VSGs, the biggest success factor is how one uses the tool that they have been provided with their WLS, rather than which one was done, or what detail size differences there may have been.

[New&Improved 1,780]

I'm not too worried I was just curious? I think he said main thing is easier recovery..

I'm not complaining I've only got max 80lbs to go

[New&Improved 1,780]

[mousecat88 2,281]

My surgeon said the typical pouch is the size of a thumb, but he makes them the size of two thumbs together because he feels that the 'single thumb' size is too restrictive. *shrug*

[JRT Mom 919]

I am having my pre-op visit in a week and I'm gonna ask the surgeon about what size pouch he likes to make.

I've also heard surgeons attach the pouch at different points on the small intestine resulting in more or less of a bypass affecting calorie absorption. Also a good question to ask.

[2Bsmaller18 436]

Mine said it was the size of an egg. Initially you don’t want to stretch it at all while you are healing etc. He says it stretches just like a normal stomach does but it will take a year to get to a 1 cup capacity, and should never get to 5-6 cups like a regular stomach.