CRAP! Tomorrow is Pre-Op with the Doc. Questions?

[Berry78 4,259]

For a possibly more helpful description...

You have a pillowcase. I want you to make the pillowcase just big enough to hold your foot and lower leg. How would you do it?

Let's put your foot and leg into the case against one side, then cut off the extra case and stitch the two edges together. Voila! Custom leg accessory.

Now.. the pillowcase is your stomach, and the bougie is your leg.

Since stomach acid shouldn't get loose in the abdominal cavity, the cutting and stapling happen at the same time. The surgeon may also use suture material to oversew the staple line by hand, but that is done after the staples are in place, already securing the edges.

[GeTnBackuP 192]

23 minutes ago, Berry78 said:

Ok, so a bougie is something (metal? Plastic?) shaped like a hot dog. They run it down into the stomach (via the esophagus) during the operation. Then they use a nifty tool that cuts, cauterizes, and staples, all at the same time, to separate the "keep" vs. "don't keep" part of the stomach.

The bougie is inside the "keep part" and gives something firm to make the cut against, while also making the sleeve the correct size.

The bougie is removed when the cuts are complete.

40 is a size measurement, and French is style I guess.

I can totally visualize this with your excellent description! Very interesting! Thank you!