How many of you talked to your surgeon about the bougie size he would use for your sleeve surgery? And if you did, how did it go, did you have input?

I find myself obsessing about this because I want my sleeve to be small (within safe and reasonable limits of course) I have read that 32f is the smallest we can use here in the US? I am thinking 34f or 36f. Of course I plan on talking to my surgeon about this on Tues at my pre op, but I have a bit of anxiety over it. Worried that it seems like second guessing him, or is this a fair and common topic to discuss?

I highly recommend this article:

http://tinyurl.com/pu2fv2d

he could use a 32 and you could still wind up with a sleeve a 42 would fit. It's more of what he actually does during surgery than what he says before.

he could use a 32 and you could still wind up with a sleeve a 42 would fit. It's more of what he actually does during surgery than what he says before.

That's exactly what my surgeon said, so the resulting size can vary a bit. I understand (and shared) the fear of getting 'too big' but my surgeon assured me I would be pleased. I believe mine was a 34 bougie. And I'm just over 6 months out and can eat about 4.5 oz at a time and I *love* it!!! I feel perfectly satisfied and full, no acid reflux, or any other problems.

I do admit that just after surgery when I was on liquids I thought maybe the sleeve was too big, but it was just the liquids passing through quickly. Once I started on mushies it was a world of difference and my sleeve was just dandy!

Edited February 7, 201511 yr by AlwaysVegas

I asked....34

I thank you for making this post and for all those who have input on it. I had NO idea there were sizes and things as such. Is there a site I can use to get in depth information?

Maybe this is a dumb question, but what is a bougie? I have never even heard of this until now. My surgery date is March 9, thus is this something that I should be speaking with my surgeon about? What are the potential implications on my surgery?

For those of you who are just learning about vertical sleeve gastrectomies (VSGs), go to the patients section of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at https://asmbs.org/patients.

That site has answers to frequently asked questions, videos of surgery, research findings, etc.

Otherwise, google is your friend.

Also, you should identify a bariatric surgeon in your neighborhood and attend the (typically monthly) 3-hour-long lecture on bariatric surgery that most surgeons give. Just because you attend a specific surgeon's lecture doesn't mean you have to have surgery with her/him.

Good luck.

P.S. A bougie is the plastic calibration tube the surgeon puts down your throat into your stomach to guide her/him to do a perfect cut or pattern for your new stomach so you will have the precise amount of stomach left behind -- and so she/he does not cut too much stomach or too little stomach. Bougies used in VSGs come in width sizes from French (Fr) 32 through 42 (years ago they used to be even larger).

You can view a video about all this at

I thank you for making this post and for all those who have input on it. I had NO idea there were sizes and things as such. Is there a site I can use to get in depth information?

I posted this link earlier, but it's worth repeating. This is an excellent article with photos and videos that will really help you understand bougie size better. One note, the video links don't appear to work right now, if you copy/paste the address for the videos into your browser's address bar, you can properly view the videos.

http://tinyurl.com/pu2fv2d

Edited February 8, 201511 yr by JamieLogical

Great links. This study of nearly ten thousand sleevers showed same weight loss result 3 years out whether under or over 40 bougie. Larger bougies showed decrease in risk of leaks. Mine was 38 I think.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23023201

Great links. This study of nearly ten thousand sleevers showed same weight loss result 3 years out whether under or over 40 bougie. Larger bougies showed decrease in risk of leaks. Mine was 38 I think.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23023201

Thank you, I had seem the other links that were posted and they were extremely informative.

I had not seen the one you posted and it too was super helpful, not as worried about the size now but of course I am still going to ask. I will post back when I know. Happy Sunday everybody

Worried that it seems like second guessing him

@@minniegirl

if you have ANY question for the doc

you must ask/discuss

if you want a smaller size bougie - tell him

then he'll explain why you should or shouldn't have that size

talk about anything and everything

you are the patient

you are entitled to ask anything

I had a 36

but.............my doc said their is a miniscule difference from one size to another

surgery around the 25th???

good luck

speedy recovery

kathy

Edited February 8, 201511 yr by proudgrammy

Thank you, proudgrammy! XO

Bougie size:

I asked my surgeon what size bougie he would use and was told a 40fr. I was very happy with that answer. He also explained that there is only mm differences between sizes, and he felt there were fewer issues with the larger size and weight loss would be pretty much the same.

Research I have seen backs up what your surgeon says.

i was told the same thing when I was sleeved 3 years ago - the research was perhaps less conclusive at the time but they felt 38 was a lower risk size versus alot of the 32s being done at the time. I of course have no real idea and from what i can gather technique makes alot of difference in ACTUAL functional size of the stomach.

I also had the honor of having one of the larger stomachs he had removed in a woman. woo hoo. I don't know what that means even, but when you think about our bodies, I bet there ARE differences in starting size of stomachs and perhaps even length right?? I don't know a thing, but I suspect too much emphasis is put on that surgical tool.

I asked my surgeon what size bougie he would use and was told a 40fr. I was very happy with that answer. He also explained that there is only mm differences between sizes, and he felt there were fewer issues with the larger size and weight loss would be pretty much the same.