roux-en-y vs. lapband

Hi everyone,

this is my first time on the message boards. My wife and I are both looking forward to surgery within the next few months. And actually, my dad just had gastric bypass last week. Today he found out that he has an infection around the drain tube, so the surgeon removed the tube and put him on antibiotics. We're worried though, because he has a history of mrsa infection. A few years ago he was almost paralyzed by a mrsa infection on his spinal cord. He pulled through, but he is permanently disabled. That's not my main reason for writing though.

As I said my wife and I are close to surgery and we have peia insurance, which will cover both the lapband and roux en y gastric bypass. We're having trouble deciding. Which is the best surgery? I know it's a personal decision, but it's a decision we're having trouble making. If anyone has any suggestions? If there are any surgeons reading the message boards your input would be appreciated as well.

Thanks guys,

if you want you can even email me at [email protected]    Again thanks

Generally, the surgeon considers many factors, including how much wt you need to lose. If you only need to lose 60-75 pounds, then the lapband me me the one for you. If you have over 100 pounds to lose, generally the RNY is more effective. I'm 30 months since surgery, lost 70 pounds at 7 months, and a total of 155+ pounds at 24 months. Support meetings help a lost with your progress after WLS, as well as maintianing the wt loss. DAVE

Welcome to the boards!

I had lap RNY 20 months ago, have lost 168 lb, am 10 lb below goal weight and maintaining, have had no complications, and am extremely happy with my choice.  My sister is 3+ months postop from the Realize band, has lost 36 pounds so far, has had no complications, and is also very happy with her choice.  It is a very personal decision and you have to choose which surgery will be best for you and your own lifestyle. 

Check out the other surgery forums on Obesity Help.  There is a forum for several different surgical options, as well as non-surgical weight loss.  Ask around and see what led others to their choice.

For me, I wanted restriction & malabsorption, did not want to go back in for fills, wanted to have to restrict my food choices (such as low sugar in case of potential dumping syndrome), and wanted to have surgery with a specific surgeon whose track record I knew very well.  The choice for me was not a hard one.  And I don't regret it and wouldn't change a thing about it.

Hi smanfan,
Good for you for researching your options. If you have not already done so, I would encourage you to check out all possibilities: Lapband, RNY, DS and VSG. Basically, all 4 differ in the amount of restriction and malabsorption.
SherryB

I'm guessing you have narrowed it to RNY and Band as that is what your insurance covers, but you should also look at the sleeve, and DS. I chose the self pay for the DS even though my insurance covered RNY and band, since I had over a hundred pounds I wanted to lose, and the statistics were best with the DS. Feel free to look at my profile for a comparison chart that helped me make my decision.

Good luck with your dad, and I hope he has a smooth recovery.

My friend, you have a BMI of 72. The syrgery YOU need is the DS (duodenal switch). Check it out here:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/

and here:

www.duodenalswitch.com

The DS has been shown to give the very best long-term results, ESPECIALLY in those of us with a starting BMI greater than 50.