I had VSG in Aug 2017. Dr says I’ll need to have revision due to acid reflux/Barrett’s, etc......Does anyone know what the preop for revision surgery is? Do you still have to do 2 week liquid, etc.....? Just gathering info to make an informed decision. Thx!

21 minutes ago, Fatgirl56 said:

I had VSG in Aug 2017. Dr says I’ll need to have revision due to acid reflux/Barrett’s, etc......Does anyone know what the preop for revision surgery is? Do you still have to do 2 week liquid, etc.....? Just gathering info to make an informed decision. Thx!

This is going to depend on your surgeon (and maybe insurance) but, my revision from Band to Bypass required a minimum 2 week pre-op diet.

Thx Matt

41 minutes ago, Matt Z said:

This is going to depend on your surgeon (and maybe insurance) but, my revision from Band to Bypass required a minimum 2 week pre-op diet.

Thanks, Matt. My surgeon has already broached the subject of a revision due to reflux. He'll decide in a couple months, after I hit the 6 month mark on my sleeve. I had been wondering about all the pre-op stuff.

1 hour ago, Fatgirl56 said:

I had VSG in Aug 2017. Dr says I’ll need to have revision due to acid reflux/Barrett’s, etc......Does anyone know what the preop for revision surgery is? Do you still have to do 2 week liquid, etc.....? Just gathering info to make an informed decision. Thx!

mine was exactly the same preop as it was for my original surgery

On the pre-op diet front, that depends upon the surgeon - many of us do no diet at all other than the day before to empty the GI tract. If you are talking to the same surgeon who did your original surgery, and he normally imposes such diets then you will likely be told to do it again, though one can make a good case that since you are at a reasonable goal weight you don't need to "shrink the liver", assuming that is the rationale that they use for the diet. All you can do is ask.

When contemplating a revision, it is always a good idea to get a second (or even third) opinion, as these surgeries are often more complex and their causes more variable. If the cause is a shaping or other structural issue with your sleeve (which can have a big influence on GERD problems) then it may be better to correct the problem with the sleeve rather than replace it. As the sleeve is still relatively new to most bariatric surgeons, they may not really know how to correct a problem with a sleeve and prefer to stick within their comfort zone by converting it to a bypass, which they tend to know very well.

A good starting place to look for second opinions on something like this is in the DS community - look for a surgeon who is experienced with the DS, since as that uses the sleeve as its basis, they tend to be more experienced with them than most, and tend to be more comfortable in correcting them when needed. The practice that did my sleeve had been doing them for around twenty years, and that was seven years ago - most bariatric practices at that time had only been doing them for a year or two at best.

Thanks Rick! My surgeon has been doing this for 13 years and has a great track record. About 3 mos after my VSG surgery he attempted to “burn” the Barrett’s but couldn’t because of the amount of bile reflux I have. He says the only was to correct the GERD is by doing a revision and then can take care of the Barrett’s. I’m trying to talk myself into it but am unsuccessful at this point.