Question for post ops w/BMIs over 60

I am wondering if anyone had RNY lap or was supposed to have it done lap and the dr had to do it open. How long was the surgery? I have less than two weeks to go and getting nervous. Jenn

Hi Jenn, I had RNY Lap, the surgery was supposed to start at 8am or 8:30a, but actually started around 10a {I think I was out of it as you can imagine}; and was over within a few hrs. according to my family.... I believe lap is the best way to go, its less invasive, of course because of my girth, the surgeon {who is wonderful by the way}; said he wouldnt know if he could do it that way or not, until he actually got me on the table, luckily he could, he said it was a challenge, but he wanted to do the best he could for me, and I appreciate that.... Good luck to you, and come back and see us when your feeling up to it, see ya on the loosing side....its a wonderful feeling....

I had a BMI of 62. My surgeon on does open surgery and always removes the gallbladder. My surgery was about two and a half hours. The recovery was fine. I didn't mind having it done open. Try not to be too scared. The surgery is not as bad as you anticipate it to be. Best of everything to you. Loris

Hi Jenn, Congradulations on your surgery date!!! I was one of those paitents that anticipated and hoped for lap RNY and ended up with OPEN. I have some scars that are on my right side where the doctors attempted to place the lap tools (cameras) in. My problem was that they found a huge hernia that was stragulating my intestine..that had to be "chopped out"(my dr's words..not mine) They also found a peptic ulcer and removed that also. I am telling you this...not to scare you, but just to let you know that the doctor didn't even know that I had those two issues before surgery...even though he himself performed an endoscopy the Friday before my surgery. I had no pain in my abdoman to even suggest the hernia and the ulcer. You just have to trust your doctor and know that he will do his very best to get you through this thing they call weight loss surgery. I don't recall how long my surgery was..but I do remember being scared and worried about the time duration pre-op too. Remember, no matter how long this surgery takes, it will seem like only a few minutes to you!! Don't worry about your loved ones waiting for you. They don't mind waiting and they want to be there when you wake-up for support. Take care and know that we here will all be there with you in support, thinking of you and sending our best SMO power your way on your special day!!! Hugs to you Jenn!!!! Ginger

I had a BMI of over 67 I had the lap done on July I think I was under less then 4 hrs might have been less but did great went to walmart one the way home just 2 days out shelley 458/316/210?

The doctor will explore your abdominal cavity/internal organs while they have you in surgery. If they find anything wrong, they'll fix it (usually). This sometimes means converting from laproscopic surgery to an open procedure. I had an open procedure. My BMI was 87, and my doctor didn't want me under anesthesia for a moment longer than was necessary. Lap procedures take 3-5 hours. An open procedure takes half the time. My recovery was pretty simple. I had really good anesthesia, and I'd been working on core strength at the gym and at home for six months before the operation. I have a scar, but I had no complications at all and was able to leave the hospital three days after surgery. If you want to know why or how your surgeon would have to go with an open surgery, you need to discuss it with him. I felt more at ease after I talked to my surgeon about various risk factors and how they applied to me (a lot of them really didn't because of my age and relative good health).

Thanks to all of you. I feel better. I have been told because of my size an open procedure would be very bad (I was told this by mypsych at my eval). So I am a little paranoid over it,but I was also told a C section would be bad for me I had that done 10 mos ago. I survived that too. Thanks again Jenn