Where did my stomach go?

I've had a bunch of people ask me what they did with my stomach. See that incision under the steri-strips in the picture? 85% of my stomach came out of that hole. That is my pinky finger in the picture for comparison. With this procedure (VSG), most of my stomach is removed. A variation of this surgery is used for stomach cancer patients, and it has been part of the duodenal switch surgery (another weightloss surgery option) for decades. Here is a nice picture of it that I found on the web:

Since the procedure was done laparoscopically, I don't have any large incisions. That one in the picture is the biggest one I have. It is the sorest and the most bruised too since it needed to be large enough to remove the stomach. There was an extra stitch put deep in my muscles at that spot in order to close the muscles back up after they were separated to get out of the way. In total I have 6 incisions - 5 from the surgical instruments, and 1 from a post-op drain. One of the 5 surgical incisions is up high, right under my sternum. During the procedure, they also repaired a hiatal hernia (apparently really common) and that incision site needed to be up high for that. The others are across my middle abdomen, about halfway between my belly button and the bottom of my ribs. Most of the incisions are only slightly sore (or maybe it is those pain meds helping). But make no mistake - I had major abdominal surgery and my muscles were really jerked around. Every time I sit up I'm reminded of that.

Today has been pretty good so far. I'm definitely going to make my water and protein goals (64 oz, 60 grams respectively). Looks like I'll end the day with around 500-600 calories down, which is pretty good for 3 days post-op! I don't feel hungry at all. In fact, most of the time I just feel indifferent. I could not eat all day. The protein shakes have been good today. This evening I'll try some cream of chicken soup (strained of the chicken chunks). I might try a bite of ricotta cheese too. Overall, I'm doing well. Now I think I'll go take a nap...