Ok, so I have researched VSG like crazy, and of course I came across this a while back, but someone told me not to worry about it.

Now that I am less than a month away, my head is going crazy trying to stay calm, and someone else asked me if I know what Bougie size I am getting, so naturally I am in a tizzy.

Is this something I need to talk to my surgeon about??? I read somewhere that between 32-40 is good. I am assuming my surgeon does this anyway....

I am not not aware that this something you need to worry about.

I had an outstanding, highly skilled surgeon. I asked lots of questions for my own knowledge, but I had implicit faith in his ability to do his job, which includes choosing his surgical instruments.

I have no idea what bougie size he used, nor do I care.

Everything I have looked at pretty much goes around with saying, "This is something you and your surgeon should discuss and decide on together"

I just don't want to come out of it not really knowing I guess... I am pretty Type A.

Are you going to ask what kind of scalpel and clamps s/he'll use too? mb

Sorry. I'm just not always as confident as I should be, I guess. I thought I would just ask for some help/insight.

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Edited October 18, 201510 yr by ASUgrad

I had a 36 size bougie. My surgeon said the risk of leaks and complications goes down with higher bougie sizes.

I didn't even know what a bougie size was until well after my surgery. When I asked at my next doc appointment, I was told he did a size 32 as that was his standard.

I'm able to eat a respectable amount of food, no feelings of pain or discomfort except at the very beginning (like most everyone going through this surgery) and at almost 10 months out have lost 80 pounds and counting so far.

This is one of those details that just isn't that important in my opinion. As long as the surgeon has been doing the surgery for a while with a good track record and minimal pain and recovery time... I wouldn't sweat the size of the bougie at all.

Thanks, all!

Sorry. I'm just not always as confident as I should be, I guess. I thought I would just ask for some help/insight.

All I can suggest is to ask lots of questions.

I am sorry someone thought I was condescending. I thought I was answering your question based on my experience.

As to being confident, how confident do you think you should be? For most of us, this is a completely new experience. There is nothing wrong with asking questions.

I never knew anything about a bougie. Thanks for this topic. It's a question I would like the answer too. Definitely will be asking next time I meet with my doctor.

My surgeon used 32 French. 50 French is the size of a dime. Any smaller than 32 French and you risk complications such as stenosis of the mid stomach. My surgeon has a YouTube video explaining this. dr Ariel Ortiz look at the "Canadian" version that explains the procedure. The video says 33 French. He now uses 32 French.

What's bougie?

Just looked it up