Do all sleeves or bariatric surgeries need revisions? I’m seeing posts that some people think the sleeve stops working and will need a revision at some point. Where are people getting this information? Yes, some people may need surgery revision. It can happen with any type of surgery.

This site is filled with new people and people that have gained weight. People that are maintaining have no need for support here. I’m wondering if this is the reason people think surgeries will “need revisions” That we are all doomed to regain.

Understand some may need a revision for various reason: examples: (I’m sure there are more reasons than what I have listed)

• Complications
• procedure not done correctly
• it was the wrong type of surgery for an individual.

Many reasons why people gain weight. (Most People can control gains on their own, If the contiune to gain, they can consult their surgeon on options) Examples:

• Hormones
• medical conditions
• medications
• pregnancy/ menopause
• eating disorders
• stress
• Grazing – Eating a combination of heathy and unhealthy food over their calories and macros. The sensation is no restriction. Its as if you never had surgery and you will gain weight.
• Mistaking stretching as your restriction becomes less as you progress out from surgery (Your stomach is not back to full size) You still can fill it with food within your calories and macro’s
• Not knowing how many calories they are eating daily

Will all surgeries stop working. NO. Will everyone gain weight - no. If you gain you can work it back down. Weigh yourself before a 20 pound gain continues on to a 40, 80, or 100+ weight gain.

In my support group we have a few members with both sleeve and bypass that are 5 years out plus. A particular member with a sleeve is 8 years out and has had no revision. He says he lost almost 150 pounds with the sleeve. and regained 30 pounds at one point but currently maintains at 15 from his lowest loss. He is an older gentleman and does say that age plays a factor as well as he noticed its tougher to loose weight now than a few years back. He also let us know when the weight puts back on is when he does not track his intake. When a newbie to the group asks if they will ever eat normal again he always tells them " Whats normal? Before surgery I would order a large pizza and eat it all in a sitting. Now I order a medium pizza, have a slice maybe two and save the rest for another meal. The before is not normal, the way I eat a slice now is."

Thank you sooooooo much for starting this! We need sage advice from VETS. When i joined the site and really started becoming active there was a spreading sense of regain fear that i almost fell victim to as well. Im glad i checked in with my team about the realistic stats instead of just rolling with the doomsday momentum. Perspective can change your world.

Thank you for posting I’m scheduled for surgery on Monday and still torn btw the sleeve and MGB. HELP!

6 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

Thank you sooooooo much for starting this! We need sage advice from VETS. When i joined the site and really started becoming active there was a spreading sense of regain fear that i almost fell victim to as well. Im glad i checked in with my team about the realistic stats instead of just rolling with the doomsday momentum. Perspective can change your world.

For many people, a restrictive-only bariatric surgery, which the VSG is, is not enough to achieve optimal health outcomes. Basically, the sleeve is just a diet with a smaller stomach. Therefore, bariatric surgeries that are also malabsorptive, such as RNY, MGB, or DS, typically offer better weight loss results and resolution of diabetes.

Another risk with VSG is worsening of or development of GERD, which is one of the main reasons for revision from VSG to RNY. So if a pre-op has pre-existing GERD/reflux, then they should get a gastric bypass as their original bariatric surgery.

3 hours ago, MarinaGirl said:

For many people, a restrictive-only bariatric surgery, which the VSG is, is not enough to achieve optimal health outcomes. Basically, the sleeve is just a diet with a smaller stomach. Therefore, bariatric surgeries that are also malabsorptive, such as RNY, MGB, or DS, typically offer better weight loss results and resolution of diabetes.

Another risk with VSG is worsening of or development of GERD, which is one of the main reasons for revision from VSG to RNY. So if a pre-op has pre-existing GERD/reflux, then they should get a gastric bypass as their original bariatric surgery.

Perhaps the wrong post was quoted ? but good information for anyone who may need it !

No. According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, revisions made up 14% of the total number of bariatric surgeries in 2017. You have to figure that yes, some of them were revisions from sleeve to bypass, but its much more likely that a majority of those were revisions of lapbands to either sleeve or bypass since band failure is the issue we see more often. In 2011 bands made up 35% of weight loss surgeries so theres a lot out there probably getting revised. If you are curious here is the website:

https://asmbs.org/resources/estimate-of-bariatric-surgery-numbers

Edited March 8, 20197 yr by KCgirl061

3 minutes ago, KCgirl061 said:

revisions made up 14% of the total number of bariatric surgeries in 2017

Thanks for posting this.

It's always good to look at medical sites and studies. A common opinion I see "a huge percentage of VGS patients get GERD and need to revise to bypass anyway!" That does happen, but according to medical studies, the numbers aren't as high as people's perceptions.

12 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

Perhaps the wrong post was quoted ? but good information for anyone who may need it !

Yes, didn’t mean to quote your post, or any for that matter. Not sure what I did to make that happen, it was a surprise, and couldn’t figure out how to correct it afterwards.

On 03/08/2019 at 14:39, MarinaGirl said:

Yes, didn’t mean to quote your post, or any for that matter. Not sure what I did to make that happen, it was a surprise, and couldn’t figure out how to correct it afterwards.

I’ve done the same thing, or double post and have no idea how ?

I’m getting a sleeve to bypass conversion because of uncontrollable GERD. GERD is pretty common after a sleeve because your stomach becomes a high pressure system so lots of doctors put you on prophylactic PPIs for a few months. As you see above, most people don’t need conversion. GERD is either controllable on meds or goes away. I’ve been unlucky with a lot of complications.

On 3/8/2019 at 10:04 AM, KCgirl061 said:

It's always good to look at medical sites and studies. A common opinion I see "a huge percentage of VGS patients get GERD and need to revise to bypass anyway!" That does happen, but according to medical studies, the numbers aren't as high as people's perceptions.

thank you for posting facts (and link). I was starting to get freaked out as I planned to do sleeve.