What is Revision Weight Loss Surgery?
Revision weight loss surgery is when you have previously had a weight loss procedure and you now want it revised to something else. The most common reason for this is because you have regained weight after the first procedure or because it didn’t work very well for you in the first place. The most frequent revision surgery is for gastric band patients who have struggled with the dietary regime or sleeve patients who are regaining weight some years after surgery. In most cases, the revision is to the gastric bypass procedure.
If you have a gastric sleeve or a gastric band and you are looking for a conversion to bypass, you can find out more about the gastric bypass here.
How Does Revision Weight Loss Surgery Work?
In the case of a band to bypass procedure, this is usually done in one procedure. The weight loss outcome is similar to, but usually just a little below, that for a primary bypass. Revision surgery is more complex than primary surgery because the first procedure will have disturbed the anatomy in the abdomen. For this reason, complication rates for revision surgery are higher than for primary procedures. It’s still safe and effective but outcomes will be superior when you have surgery with an experienced revision surgeon, and ideally one who does revisions in the NHS as well as their private practice. There are occasions when we undertake band to sleeve revisions but these are fewer in number as we consider outcomes are better with bypass. If you want to find out which conversion would be best for you, contact us today.
How Much Weight Will I Lose With Revision Weight Loss Surgery Work?
You can expect weight loss outcomes that are usually just a little below that of which would have been achieved had you undergone bypass as your first weight loss procedure. With a revision of ‘band to bypass’ or ‘sleeve to bypass’ we might expect excess weight loss of about 60%.
What is the Hospital Stay and Recovery For Revision Weight Loss Surgery?
Your scheduled stay is the same as it is for the primary bypass procedure. To get more detailed information on life following your revision surgery, including aftercare and recovery, contact us today.
Other Considerations For Revision Weight Loss Surgery?
When having revision surgery it is important to understand the reasons why your primary procedure was unsuccessful, so you can be confident the revision surgery will not result in a repeat. We help with this by involving a dietitian and psychologist in the pre-operative assessment of your eligibility.
Where your revision involves the removal of a gastric band you also need to consider that there is a small possibility that it will not be possible to complete your revision in one procedure. In these rare situations, the second part of your revision would need to be scheduled for a later date. This could happen were it discovered during surgery that your band had eroded.