What questions to ask about the sleeve to surgeon

[desertdancer]

Ok, I am on the path at the moment of trying to decide on which WLS or to do it at all as some of you know. I am down to the RNY and the sleeve. I am going to be seeing my surgeon next month and for over a year now I have seen him a couple times and we have always been set on the RNY. I JUST found out recently that his office has been doing the sleeve and it has only been a couple of years. My advocate over there said if i was interested in the sleeve I must speak to him. Fine, I can do that.

What kind of questions should i be asking him, ESPECIALLY since his team are fairly new to this surgery. They are great doctors and have been doing the band and RNY for quite a few years and this is their proud statement:

"Based in Reno, Nevada; Western Bariatric Institute is one of the most comprehensive bariatric centers in the country.
Our physicians are all experienced Board Certified surgeons, are Fellows with the American College of Surgeons, and have been accredited as "Center of Excellence" physicians through the American Society for Bariatric Surgery."

SO do I need to be seriously concerned about how much experience they have in this particular type of surgery? What should I ask?

I also from time to time see certain posts about "does your surgeon cut this percentage or that percentage" ( i think it was like 20% or 30%) if someone understands what I am asking, can you explain that to me a little bit?

Thanks

[Avonlea]

I would absolutely ask how much experience they have. Shaping a good sleeve can make all the difference in the world as far as both success and long-term health. That having been said, if they've been doing them for "a few years" and they are COE, they may have sufficient experience.

Also, people sometimes focus on bougie size, but IMO that's the wrong measurement. You need to ask them -- and they should know -- what their goal end size is by ounces. In other words, what is your final stomach capacity going to be. If they don't know, it's a big red flag.

[loulou7]

Some people have concerns about whether the surgeon "oversews" the incision, in other words, wraps more thread over the staple line (my understanding). This is supposed to make it less likely you could develop a leak. You could ask him about that.

Might also want to ask about pre-surgery diet requirements, and post surgery diet requirements, to see if they're the same as RnY or not.

Any post-surgical complications for either procedure? Always a good question to ask any surgeon about any surgery.

Good luck!

[Deleted]

asking them how many sleeves they have done, for sure. the more the better.

what leak tests do they do?

you know what? there should be more questions here.

[Avonlea]

Also: how many of their patients have died and why? Morbid, but you should know.