TORe Procedure Patient Testimonial
“I had Roux En Y Gastric Bypass surgery in April 2018. I have Type 1 Diabetes and hypothyroidism and had never had any success with diets prior to that. Despite the fact that I had a lot of problems post-surgery with nausea and vomiting, in the end, the surgery was a great success and I lost 115 pounds! However, I noticed that as time went on, I was able to eat more and more. Eventually, I realized that I was able to eat almost as much as I could pre-surgery and that I just didn’t feel full anymore. I knew that something was wrong.
Towards the end of 2019, I started gaining the weight back. At the start of 2020, I tried going off white carbs completely and was exercising everyday but still gaining more and more weight. By September 2020, I had gained back 32 pounds. I was devastated.
I consulted a new bariatric surgeon at UMass Memorial and was told that aside from being able to eat a significant amount, I was seemingly doing everything right. After being adamant that something must be wrong, I was referred to Dr. Marya. That turned out to be a godsend.
I had a phone call with Dr. Marya where he discussed a new procedure being offered at UMass referred to as a TORe procedure. Dr. Marya was preciously a fellow at The Mayo Clinic and brought the procedure over with him when he began his career at UMass Memorial. He gave me the link to a YouTube video from The Mayo Clinic where I learned more about the procedure and I was immediately interested.
I underwent an endoscopy to see if I was a candidate for the surgery. It was during the endoscopy that we realized exactly why I was gaining all of this weight back. For the first time, I felt relieved that I had an answer to my problem and a reason for why I was gaining the weight back. Dr. Marya called me after the endoscopy to discuss the results and we had another phone call afterwards to discuss the TORe procedure in detail. Then the procedure was scheduled.
I had my TORe procedure in the middle of September of 2020. I cannot speak highly enough of the staff at UMass. From the nurses pre and post-surgery to the anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and Dr. Marya himself, it could not have been a better experience. And that says a lot for someone who is deathly afraid of anesthesia and in fact had several panic attacks throughout her time at the hospital that day! Dr. Marya called me that day on my way to the hospital, was there before the surgery to talk to me, talked to me before I went under, and talked to me in recovery as well. He also called me the following morning to see how I was feeling.
After the surgery, I went on the same post-surgery diet as I did after the Gastric Bypass. I can definitely say that the diet was easier the second time around. I was nauseous the first day getting home but then felt fine moving forward until about a month and half later when I began having bad gas in my chest and nausea and vomiting. Thankfully, I reached out to Dr. Marya and he responded within an hour. He called me the following day and the issues were addressed.
I can say assuredly that the TORe procedure was a huge success. I am almost 2 months post-op at this point in time and have lost 20 pounds. With the combination of the surgery and a prescribed medication designed to help with weight loss, I am moving back to the success I had with weight loss before the weight regain and couldn’t be more thrilled! I am able to eat the appropriate amount just like right after I had the Gastric Bypass and finally feel full again after about 3-4 bites and appropriate portion size.
I could not be happier with the fact that I found Dr. Marya and decided to have the TORe procedure. It has given me a second chance to continue with my weight loss journey and I will be eternally grateful. Dr. Marya has since become one of my favorite doctors and I cannot speak highly enough of him. Throughout this process, he could not have been more thorough, caring, reassuring, and responsive and for that, I am eternally grateful. I am extremely thankful for him and this procedure and recommend to anyone who has had a similar experience with weight regain, not feeling full, and ability to eat increased potion sizes after their original bariatric surgery, to reach out and find out if you might be a candidate as well. It could change your life for the better.”