Sleeve to RNY revision

[carlacv 26]

Had sleeve 9/2016 was doing great till 6-8 months ago started regaining weight (30+) yes I have been eating more but nothing drastic and still exercise 1 hour a day. So frustrating! Saw my surgeon says I qualify for RNY I’m considering it but he told me that I won’t loose that much more. Can you tell me what the average would be and how successful people have or have not been with a revision. Having a UGI later this month to rule out reflux (not sure if I have that) thank you!

[catwoman7 10,883]

I"m not speaking from experience since I haven't had a revision, but I've been hanging out on various bariatric boards for the last five years or so. From what I've read, most people don't lose all that much weight after a revision - maybe 20 lbs or so. But I suppose it depends on your starting BMI and how well you stick to your eating plan. Most people get revisions due to reflux.

[carlacv 26]

Thank you that’s what I was wondering but even 20lbs might actually be worth it.

[catwoman7 10,883]

2 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

I"m not speaking from experience since I haven't had a revision, but I've been hanging out on various bariatric boards for the last five years or so. From what I've read, most people don't lose all that much weight after a revision - maybe 20 lbs or so. But I suppose it depends on your starting BMI and how well you stick to your eating plan. Most people get revisions due to reflux.

btw - just for clarification, I didn't mean by "most people get revisions due to reflux" that most VSG patients end up revising to RNY. I just meant for those who DO revise, it's usually because they have severe reflux.

[RickM 1,747]

Think of it this way - before your WLS, your stomach held between a quart and a half gallon or more, depending upon how much one stuffs it. After your VSG and a few years, your capacity is more on the order of 6-8 oz. If you go for a revision, that will be cut back to the 2-ish oz that you had after your initial surgery, so there isn't nearly the difference as there was with your original surgery.

The first thing that you need to do is to address the reason for the regain, as that reason will be back again a few years after your revision if you don't do it now (as they say, you can "eat around" any of these procedures.) The WLS is just a tool that you need to learn how to use, and the RNY is not a better or stronger tool for that than the VSG that you have - it's just a little different.

One of the characteristics of our WLS (any of them) is that we can eat more at a meal over time than we could originally after surgery, and we need to learn how to adjust to that reality. This doc describes the problem well and offers his solution to it - you may or may not agree with it, but it is food for thought in working out how you can address the problem.

From my experience, over the past fifteen years or so watching others in our support group and online, correcting 30 lb of regain is fairly easy - it takes some dedication to correcting whatever has crept back into your diet and giving it a few months but it can be done; 50lb or so seems to be a lot harder. But if you can't get the majority of this off without surgery, It is unlikely that a revision will be a good long term fix for you - you will be back where you are now in a few years.

Good luck...

[carlacv 26]

Thank you for your input I just was asking about the success rate from individuals who have had the revision from sleeve to RNY. I know what my food intake can be greater and i have been changing it of course. This procedure is one I am considering and i do not take it lightly. I’m just trying to research this as much as I can thank you

[Lady VS 1,147]

btw - just for clarification, I didn't mean by "most people get revisions due to reflux" that most VSG patients end up revising to RNY. I just meant for those who DO revise, it's usually because they have severe reflux.

Thanks for that clarification. [emoji846]

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