Help! Gastric Bypass after stomach stapling

[candy32980 9]

Can anyone point me in he right direction? My mother has stomach stapling in the 80's which came undone. She needs gastric bypass surgery now but has been turned down by a couple of Bariatric centers. Is it possible to have gastric bypass after stomach stapling and if so where should we seek help ? We live in WV.

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[Christinamo7 4,041]

if they turned her down for bypass what did they recommend that she do to repair the staples coming undone situation? because that sounds like it would not be good.

[candy32980 9]

She had that removed already. They don't suggest anything else. They just say nope can't do it. Which doesn't make sense to me

[Djmohr 6,965]

@@candy32980

Have they told her why? It is important to understand the reasons behind it. They may not be able to perform the surgery for some reason but your Mom deserves to understand why.

[candy32980 9]

No they just say the surgeon won't attempt it because it could be complicated.

[laceemouse 631]

I guess I don't understand, what WAS the stomach stapling back in the '80's? Did they just run a line of staples through her stomach and not cut or remove anything? Was this done for weight loss? Did she lose the amount of weight she wanted to lose? Keep it off? Now someone went in and took the staples out? So her stomach is "normal" now? No scarring or leaks or anything? Is she overweight now?

My guess is you are going to have to go somewhere with more experienced surgeons, like the nearest teaching hospital perhaps?

Does she have insurance or is this a case of Medicare/Medicaid not wanting to pay?

[RJC5197 282]

I had vertical band and stomach stapling 20+ years ago.

Not till this year did I find a bariatric surgeon that did revisions, and knew how to convert mine to RNY.

Every person is different based on past surgery, adhesions and history. Finding the right Dr. is important.

5 years ago I went to U of M hospital with recommendations that they knew what to do for my problems with VBG, but even they only guessed at what may be done. I did not want to be a guess & try subject, so put up with issues till this year.

Glad I waited, because all went very well and I have not felt this good in years.

[catwoman7 10,939]

might want to find someone who specializes in revisions and see what they say. Someone on another board I'm on found someone at the mayo Clinic who was willing to do it. So she may have to travel....

[Frenchie1977 262]

I was just going to suggest Cleveland Clinic, they are the best and they teach everyone else how to do these procedures, may require the traveling but it is well worth it, my father had his bypass there and he swears by them

[catwoman7 10,939]

I was just going to suggest Cleveland Clinic, they are the best and they teach everyone else how to do these procedures, may require the traveling but it is well worth it, my father had his bypass there and he swears by them

Yes - the Cleveland Clinic is another one of the top hospitals in the world.

[candy32980 9]

She tried wvu but I think her insurance may be the problem. She is in the process of trying to get a different insurance. My mom is just getting so frustrated that no one wants to help her or point her in the right direction. They just give her vague reasons why they don't want to do it. She hasn't even had a consult with a surgeon because she can't get past the front desk.

[catwoman7 10,939]

I think revisions in general tend to be complicated surgeries - that's why a lot of surgeons won't do them. And some are more complicated than others, so...

[RickM 1,747]

A couple of surgeons in your region to look into is Dr. David Greenbaum in NJ snd Dr. Mitchell Roslin in NYC. Both are well regarded in complex revisions such as RNY to DS (there are only a half dozen or so in the country qualified for that one, including Paul Kemmeter up in MI that RJCS197, who posted above, used. Their preference may be to go with the DS as that overall tends to provide better results, but they usually have no problem doing RNY when that is the appropriate solution for the patient (be open minded when dealing with these complex revisions - the bypass may have worked well for you, but your mother may be a better match for another configuration.)