SURGERY- HOW IT GOES DOWN....

I have not met with the surgeon, yet, so I’m sure after that I’ll have a more detailed explanation as to how this surgery goes, but I do have SOME information about it that I received from my GI doctor.

The plan is to do this surgery laparoscopically. This means, hopefully, there will not be a huge 7+ inch incision, but rather 5 small incisions and through those, they remove the stomach. (This is where I have questions myself…they pull the whole thing out of one of those incisions?? Or maybe they cut it up while inside and pull pieces out those incisions?? I don’t know, but I will surely find out!) If something goes not as planned or certain organs are in the way, then they end up doing the 7+ inch incision to remove the stomach. Laparoscopic would be ideal as it’s easier on your body during the healing process, so we will cross our fingers and toes it stays laparoscopic.

 

The operation itself is called “Roux-en-Y reconstruction” and what they do is attach the esophagus to your small intestine. Overtime, the place where your stomach was creates its own pouch. It will never replace your stomach in that it won’t be able to break down your foods or get you the nutrients you need the same way, but it creates a similar pouch as the stomach. From what I was told, the surgery itself is actually MUCH easier than gastric bypass. Recovery on the other hand, not as easy, but still manageable. Hospital time after surgery is anywhere from 3-7 days as long as all is going well. Like I said, hopefully I’ll gather much more information in about eight months when I meet with the surgeon! Attached are pictures showing before and after surgery.