Question:
What are truly the chances of major complications.?
I am starting on my journey and will be having surgery soon and I am a little gun shy and wondering aabout the chance of complications. I am looking forward to losing this other person off my BUTT!!! ROFL — TAMMY W. (posted on June 25, 2003)
June 25, 2003
Hi Tammy, I am now 5 mths post-op lap rny, and let me tell ya this is the
best thing I have ever done. Of course I knew going into this it wasn't
going to be an easy ride and I knew I had to work hard! And, yes I had a
few bumps in the road after surgery but got thru it just fine, and still
have no regrets, it was either this or be very overweight the rest of my
life or even die, and not being able to see my children grow up! And let
me tell ya I had more bumps in the road before surgery with all of my
health probs., then I did after! So, to sum it all up, I beleive their are
complications that can happen with any type of surgery you have and that is
a risk all of us just have to take, but their are more complications I
believe if you choose to stay overweight and live your life that way too,
but the decision is still up to you in the end! So please do what is best
for you and keep positive that is the only way to go! Good Luck to you!
— Melodee S.
June 25, 2003
http://www.wlscenter.com/ResearchArticles/RisksOfSurgery.htm
<BR><BR>
I thought this was an interesting article.
— [Deactivated Member]
June 25, 2003
You are not alone in worrying about major complications-- this is extensive
surgery and being obese adds to the intrigue of it all. One way that I
minimized my risks was to find a surgeon who would perform the RNY
laparoscopically (I was only on the table for about 95 minutes and was up
walking around less than 24 hours after surgery).
I knew that I had a great risk of heart attack and stroke given my very
high blood pressure (which was not being well-controlled with meds), and
felt that those risks were higher than the risk of RNY surgical
complications. Given the tremendous arthritic pain and immobility I was
suffering in both knees, I knew that I would definitely need to have both
knees operated on (I had already been through over 10 knee operations due
to lots of accidents and the like) so I would be facing the risks of those
operations (none of which would provide me the opportunity to lose weight).
I recognized that my sleep apnea also put me at risk for stroke and death.
And lastly, I knew that I was losing the quality of my life due to my
constant exhaustion, joint pain and embarassment at my size, so that
risking that "life" was much less of a gamble.
Fortunately, my blood pressure returned to normal and I was told to stop
taking the meds, the sleep apnea is completely gone and my joint pain is a
thing of the past. I have a new life that I love-- and I love being a
healthy and active father and husband. Without a doubt, the risks were
small compared to the gains my RNY made possible.
— SteveColarossi
June 26, 2003
Go to this webpage - half way down is a graft that displays the actual % of
complications that were reported to the American Society for Bariatric
Surgery (ASBS)as of 11/29/01.
http://www.asbs.org/html/rationale/rationale.html
— adeas
June 26, 2003
I never let the 1 in 200 statistic scare me - even when my surgeon required
that I sign about a million pages of documents telling him that I
understood the risks involved. I don't know much about your situation, but
for me it was an easy decision. I was fairly young, fairly healthy aside
from my weight, high cholesterol and infertility and I weighed about 300
lbs. The statistics that surgeons quote include patients who weighed more
than 500 lbs. and who were in much lesser health than I was. I knew my
chances were better than 1 in 200. BUT - and this is a HUGE but - you need
to be prepared for EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. I know lots of people who've
had complications and it isn't any fun. Just be prepared.
— mandajuice
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