The Consultation

20 Jul 2011

My GP had made an appointment for me at the leading Bariatric Center in Germany, in Sachsenhausen, Frankfurt, where I met the Head of the Department, Dr. R. Weiner, who had performed over 2,500 laparoscopic gastric bypass procedures.

He discussed with me all the available procedures (for a list, see the wiki entry for Bariatric Surgery), and the risks/benefits of each one, and eventually I opted for the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (considered in the US to be the 'Gold Standard' of weight-loss surgery), and he concurred with my choice.

Roux-en-Y: Courtesy of Ethicon Endosurgery, Inc.

With the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass the stomach in the above graphic is dissected or stapled at the top of stomach to form a smaller stomach or pouch, about the size of an egg. The intestine leaving the stomach is cut several inches along, and the intestine is then grafted to the pouch. The piece of intestine leaving the stomach is then grafted onto the side of the intestine attached to the pouch to allow drainage of stomach digestive juices.

Before the interview I filled in all the usual forms, detailing my medical history, the weight-loss methods I had used in the past, any allergies or intolerances, etc. I then had my height and weight measured (1.75m, 125Kg), which gave me a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 41.

The doctor took an ultrasound scan, blood-pressure, discussed my medical history and the history of my weight-loss attempts. He explained that the surgery could, in many cases, bring blood pressure down to normal, avert the onset of type 2 diabetes, improve sleep, and eliminate gout.

They have a good selection of documentation to download on the Professor's website, and I found the info on the Roux-en-Y particularly helpful.

He explained that he would be making a positive report to my insurers, and gave me a tentative date for my procedure (in on Monday the 12th Sep, surgery on the 13th Sep, and home on Saturday the 18th Sep, providing there was no complications).

A few days later I had his report and request for the insurer's preapproval, which I forwarded to my insurer.

Ten days later the insurer approved the procedure for 100% of the cost, but a shared, rather than fully private room. Not bad at all.

It was time to take a 'before' set of pictures:

125.5Kg  BMI 41.45

Over the next weeks I had many questions, and fortunately I was able to get all of them answered by two great support forums, the WLSInfoForum and the ThinnerTimesForum. My username in these forums is Rock, so you can search for my questions to get an idea of the concerns I had.

I was now counting down the days to admission.