I was wondering if anyone know for sure how much of their stomach was removed I heard anywhere from 65 to 85% the reason im asking is I would think the more you had removed the faster the weight loss plus less or no hunger and did you have a choice how much you wanted removed?

I actually have wondered the same thing, and continually have forgotten to ask my surgeon. I go back on Monday afternoon, on 3-4-13, so I will make sure not to forget to ask him this time (fingers crossed). I had no choice prior to surgery, and never asked prior if he had a set percentage for everyone. I'll let you know then what I find out, but I am sure each surgeon is different.

My surgeon told me right after surgery that he took 80%

Your doc will use a bougie to determine the size of what you will have left for a stomach. The question to ask is what size bougie your doc will use. Most fall somewhere in the middle with a medium size but some go smaller and some bigger for whatever reason, usually specific to the patient. I've heard others post on here that they thought their doc used a big bougie and they think this caused them to have slower weight loss. Consider this though....slower weight loss means more control over the excess skin you may or may not have. I can certainly relate to wanting it gone like yesterday but my body loses in phases and I have to work my sleeve. When people tell you it's a tool, they are right on.

My doc just said he'd take out about 85%. I was confident in his judgement, he'd been doing sleeves for over 12 years.

My surgeon told me after he removed 75% but so far I've been losing really well so I'm not sure that'll cause me to lose much slower than someone who had 85% of theirs removed.

My impression is that it's up to the surgeon....I keep forgetting to ask my doc as well.....

I have a silly question for you guys though, can anyone give me the phonetic pronunciation of bougie?

Does it rhyme with Dougie like the dance

or does it rhyme with Doogie as in Doogie Houser MD?

Or does it rhyme with Hoagie like the sandwich?

lol

but, yeah.....?

The bougie sizes are used as a guide for the doctor when removing your stomach. As far as getting a "bigger" or "smaller" sleeve the difference between the ALL bougies sizes are really very small..

Your doctor will know what is right for you!

Everyone's stomachs are different some are small some are long so even two people using the same size bougie can have different capacities after..

And as far as "getting one as small as you can"

If your stomach is made to small there is a greater chance of long term problems.

Laura

My impression is that it's up to the surgeon....I keep forgetting to ask my doc as well.....

I have a silly question for you guys though' date=' can anyone give me the phonetic pronunciation of bougie?

Does it rhyme with Dougie like the dance

or does it rhyme with Doogie as in Doogie Houser MD?

Or does it rhyme with Hoagie like the sandwich?

lol

but, yeah.....?[/quote']

bou·gie

/ˈbo͞ojē/

It was explained to me that 85% was the goal. The size of the boughie is made after looking at the stomach and factoring its actual length and the condition (thickness) of where the suture line would fall. This is where surgeons expertise really matters.

My surgeon said he will remove 85%.

My surgeon removed 85% leaving a 60 cc pouch.

I was told 85 percent too

Every surgeon is different. My surgeon says he only removes 75%. I have lost 40 lbs since my surgery on Jan. 9th. I'm not disappointed at all.

I asked my surgeon and he said he pretty much uses one size for everyone. I have a pre-op class 5 days before my surgery where we'll have an opportunity to ask the surgeon questions. I plan to get more clarification on this...

40 French bougie has the lowest leak rate, that is what my surgeon standardly uses. Postop was smooth, no vomiting, no dehydration, sliming only if I don't do as I should. There are good things that the stomach produces that we need to absorb vitamins so this seemed to be a great balance to me. Definitely don't want to look like the pale and weak bypass patients with malabsorption.