Heres a video of what will be done to me :-)
Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
I am currently sick of two things.
- Being harassed by people for being too fat
- Being too fat.
So… I’ve decided to have a VSG. I saw the doctor (Dr Talbot) on August 8th 2007.
He pretty much told me that the Band and Bypass, while suitable and would work, would be inferior to the VSG. Apparently he has done about 100 VSGs and has had good success with them.He seems to be the only person I can find that will do it laproscopically so it seems like hes the right choice for a provider.
I had to go and get blood taken (lots and lots of it) and then booked in again to see him.
On the second visit ( Aug 22) I booked in a theatre date. I’m booked in for Oct 22nd.
Theres a pre-op diet of “meal replacement” drinks. This is apparently to make the recovery faster but i really suspect that surgery would be far easier for the surgeon with less of a fatty layer on the stomach and a shrunken liver. The stomach of course is partially under the liver and needs to be accessible to rescect it.
He told me I need 3 weeks from the surgery to recover. I’m currently planning to be back at work the following week (7 days off)
The surgery will cost me about $6000 directly in total (including pathology) and with lost income to the company while I’m away, it gets far more expensive. Being back at work, and being able to work while recovering (home and in hospital) is very important. I’ve got a mobile internet connection and will be able to work from anywhere with coverage.
Luckily I’m in an industry where physical location is not important and as the supervisory staff at work are great, I don’t need to actually be there.