Just found out I need a hiatal hernia repair surgery. Had an upper Gi and the dr said stomach is very small and had a hard time "finding it". Also a lot of scar tissue. I am 6 years post RNY (12 yrs post gastric banding). I kept my 75 lb weightloss off until covid. I lost additional weight during covid due to stress and trauma and now I have gained it all back and then some. So in addition to needing the hernia repair surgery, I want to discuss revision surgery. I am having trouble swallowing pills without them getting stuck, have GERD, and have pain when eating. I am trying to find some names of surgeons to research. I am in Arizona but will travel. The surgeon that I have met with has said this isn't going to be an easy surgery and they won't know exactly what they are dealing with until they get a full look. Anyone been through something similar and have a dr. they can recommend?

You are right to be looking around for second and third opinions when contemplating a repair and possible revision with a higher than average complexity. If indeed you are in the "gained it all back, plus" camp, then the traditional RNY fixed probably won't be strong enough to do the job, and adding in the hernia and additional scaring compounds things.

The surgeon I would suggest looking into would be Ara Keshishian, who is in the Glendale/Pasadena area of So Cal. He is one of the handful of surgeons who can do the complex RNY/DS conversion, should that me necessary, and I have seen some on these forums who have had some fairly involved RNY reworks from him (though his preference is usually to go for the DS if it makes sense.) Rumor has it that he isn't dealing with insurance anymore (haven't verified that, though,) so if that is an issue, another good choice to talk to would be John Rabkin in SF, who is similarly qualified in complex procedures., As both have long drawn patients from around the country (and beyond) they have long routinely been able to do their early screening discussions and longer term follow ups remotely.

Another doc I would talk to if you want to look East would be Mitchell Roslin in NYC; he also seems to have a very deep toolkit, capable of doing a number of different procedures as appropriate Most bariatric surgeons are pretty good at doing RNYs and variations of that, but don't go very far beyond that, and it sounds like you need someone with rather broad (and deep) skills to get what you need.

Good luck,,,,

Thank you RickM. This is very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time.

I don't know where you are in Arizona, but I recommend Banner Estrella Weight Loss Center in Phoenix (101 and Thomas so West Valley but he also sees patients at Banner Gateway in Gilbert). I am 8 years post op sleeve from a surgeon in another state. Dr. David Podkameni is who is treating me. He is doing a hiatal hernia repair for me tomorrow. He is very knowledgeable.

Has anyone that is here in west Phoenix found any groups for the local area? I would like to find a workout buddy as I am just starting my vsg process

Hi I had my Lapband for 9 years and just got it taken out. It was stuck to my liver and I had a lot of scarred tissue. I also had a large hiatal hernia the size of an orange they had to fix. It was a very risky and complicated surgery. It took 5 hours to complete it. I did stay 5 days in the hospital because I had so much inflammation and couldn’t get enough fluids down.

I'm getting revision surgery along with repair of my hiatal hernia withFlagstaff Surgery Associates. Dr. Berger and another surgeon there are weight loss surgery specialists. I have Medicare and a supplement, and I expect to be approved even though I have a low BMI because of my Barrett's esophagus and GERD issues.