Should I be concerned that my doctor told me i will be her biggest patient to have performed surgery on?

[FootballMom92 9]

should i be concerned that my doctor told me i will be her biggest patient have a perform weight loss surgery on

[NovaLuna 709]

It's normal to feel concern when told something like that. Because there are risks to the surgery (any surgery, really), but often times the benefits far outweigh the risks. Some surgeons are only comfortable performing the surgery up to a certain BMI so maybe her practice was like that until recently? If you have concerns with that info, by all means, bring your concerns up to her.

[lizonaplane 1,604]

I personally would be concerned but it's also a really serious issue to be very overweight. I was concerned and I know I was not the largest person my surgeon had operated on. I was just nervous for the surgery. You might consider getting a second opinion or seeing if there's a surgeon who specializes in larger patients, but there might not be someone in your area.

The other thing I would suggest is to lose as much weight as possible before the surgery because that is the best way to put yourself in good shape for the surgery.

Whatever you decide, please keep us posted. I'm rooting for you!!

[The Greater Fool 1,937]

Honestly, there aren't a lot of folks 600+ pounds (comparatively) that are looking for surgery and a lot of surgeons out there now, so this isn't surprising to me.

I was the largest my surgeon had done to that time.

I had a rough beginning as my surgery was open (not laproscopic) and the staples and drain were extraordinarily painful. But once that stuff was removed I did and felt fine.

My Docs plan was to teach me how to eat healthy and this started day 1 post-op. I still live this plan. By month 6 the plan became my new normal and I had hundreds of pounds of successful weight loss to reinforce that my plan was working.

And the rest, as they say, is history. I went on to lose all my excess weight, weight I have not found again since. I had my acceptable goal weight and my goal weight and blew right past them to a weight of which I never dreamed in my wildest dreams. I've done so many things I never thought I would like running 5 marathons. I done so many things I never even thought about. It's been a great ride.

If your surgeon, like mine, takes you on as a patient it means they are confident they can help you. Do your due diligence as you should for any Doc then move forward with a can-do attitude because there will be a bunch of hoops to jump through.

You won't recognize your life in 3 years.

Good luck,

Tek

Edited October 14, 2021 by The Greater Fool

[Sunnyway 344]

Yes, it should be concerning because the risks are greater. Your surgeon has selected duodenal switch for you which is appropriate. It has the best potential for losing lots of weight.

Nevertheless, it is still up to you you! Do read as much as possible about WLS and afterwards. I've posted lots of book suggestions, which you can see by going to my profile.

Start learning how to eat differently now so that it is habit by the time you have had surgery. Lose as much weight as you can pre-surgery, which will make it easier for your surgeon to get at your organs.

[Tomo 1,135]

Yes, I would be. I interviewed my surgeon on his ability and how comfortable he was in revision surgery. One can never be too careful.

Sent from my SM-N986U using BariatricPal mobile app

[ShoppGirl 3,341]

I would be concerned but at the same time I would be thankful that you decided to consider this route before it was too late (before your BMI was even higher and the surgeon was not comfortable performing the surgery). I would try to lose as much weight as possible pre surgery. Every bit will help to make the surgery even safer. You can even ask to start with the nutritionist now to drop some of the weight.

[The Greater Fool 1,937]

I realize I didn't directly answer "Should I be concerned?"

I was concerned. I was in my early 40's and things were starting to go wrong. Hauling around 500+ extra pounds takes it's toll. Looking at the future, I could see I would be bed bound in a couple years, which would impact my life negatively in so many ways. Already, medical issues were becoming increasingly frequent and severe. In a word, the future looked bleak. So, yes, I was concerned.

When I decided RNY was for me and I chose the surgeon for the task, yes, I was concerned. I was concerned that he wouldn't be able to help me because I was so large, it would have been a sentence to a slow, miserable death.

When my surgeon took me on as a patient "concern" wouldn't be what I felt. Hope was what I felt. He told me the plan and I felt it I could do it. He was frank that being as large as I was that I could die during surgery. My wife and I discussed this possibility and both agreed it was better to die trying to change things than to die the slow death we saw ahead. So, I was not concerned about surgery, I would have been concerned to not get surgery.

Was I concerned that my surgeon hadn't had a patient as large as me? No, I thanked my lucky stars he was giving me a chance to live.

I still did my due diligence though. I checked out the surgeons past, since he had been involved in WLS studies, I looked at his documented outcomes. I grilled him with questions as he did me. Turns out I was very lucky.

My concern, if I had one, was that the testing would reveal a problem that would have caused my surgery to be cancelled. Fortunately nothing got in the way.

Good luck,

Tek

Edited October 15, 2021 by The Greater Fool

[vikingbeast 985]

Well, it's certainly concerning, but unless your doctor has qualms about it, I would say this is your absolute best chance for what is truly a life-changing opportunity.