Questions to ask your surgeon at your pre-op visits...

The following list of questions to ask potential surgeons was gathered from a conversation on the GastricBypass-InfoCentral group at YahooGroups.

1) How many cms of intestine will you bypass???

2) How much common channel will I have?

3) Do you transect the stomach? Do you remove the remnant stomach? IF NOT--Will you transect if I have or revert to an Open vs. lap surgery???

4) How common are staple line disruptions?

5) How common are ulcers around the stoma?

6) How many surgeries of this type have you done???

7) How many deaths are on your record??? (Please keep in mind that the more experienced the surgeon is and the more complicated cases he takes on the higher this number can be so you need all of the facts to make a determination.)

8) Will I wake up with an naso-gastric tube or JP drains in???

9) Will I go straight to a regular room if there are no complications or
wake up in ICU???

10) What will I do if I have complications and you are unavailable (i.e.
sick, on vacation, away from the office, etc.)? Is there a partner or other
doctor who knows as much about RNY that can help me. (It's been my
experience that docs that practice with another surgeon or surgeons is
better when and if you have complications and your surgeon is unavailable. It's hard to find a surgeon willing to take on complications of a different surgeon outside of their practice.)

11) How long will you follow up with me??

12) What kind of aftercare program do you offer and what kinds of
information and help will I receive during the weight loss process?

13) How often do I need labs done? Will you agree to order the lab tests necessary to keep me in good health?

14) How many supplements should I take? (protein and vitamins both)

15) How big is the pouch you create?

16) How do you feel about milk in the diet? sugar? fats?

17) How long am I off foods?

18) How strict a "diet" will I still be on?

19) If I am still sick/nauseated/vomiting after 3 weeks, what will you do for me?

19) Of my excess weight, what percentage can I expect to lose?

20) Of the weight that I lose, what percentage can I expect to keep off long-term?