Are most open or Laproscopic???

I'm reading anything and everything I can about this surgery, including OH, DS facts, and I'm clicking on every single DS profile available to get everyones experiences.

One thing I'm wondering about......is there a HUGE difference in recovery between the open and lap surgeries?  Either way our guts are cut to pieces so in one way I think it would be similar as far as eating and time to recover....but I just saw a pic of someone after open surgery and then I started wondering how much mure difficult the healing really is with the open one. 

How many of you are open and how many lap?  Have you guys compared post op?  Do lap surgeries have the picc lines and drains and numbing med tubes, etc?  or is that just b/c they got cut open?

Thank you :)

Whether the DS is done open or lap is totally dependent on the surgeon and the patient.  I think you'll find a pretty even distribution between the two, really.

Mine was lap and I had no complications ... no drains ... no feeding tubes ... seven tiny incisions that have since healed and are nearly invisible.

I am exactly 6 months post op and continue to do great.  Mine was a lap.  I went back to work at 2 weeks, feeling fine.  I did have the "Q Ball" with the numbing medicine for 5 days which I am sure helped a lot.  I also had the PICC line while I was in the hospital which was nice not to be stuck all the time - they took it out before I went home.  I was in the hospital for 2 days.  My doc has you do 3 week of liquids post op and that was harder than the actual recovery, lol.

Good luck,
Deb

THank you both!

Deb, I'm going to Dr. Smith.  What's with the 3 week postop liquids?  LOL I wonder if he finds that people heal better with that.  Can you have pureed foods like a banana blended with a protein shake or anything?  Doesn't seem like that's a common practice but I know he's an excellent, well known doc so..........

My post-op plan was:

Week 1 - clear liquids
Week 2 & 3 - full liquids

At Weeks 4-6, I could have gone to pureed foods, and did try a few, but I didn't really feel that well when I ate them, so I was actually on full liquids for Week 4 too.  I think I just needed a little more time to progress.


I wouldn't have wasted space with a banana early post-op.  The banana is bigger than your stomach, and not a good protein source.  I eat bananas now sometimes, but not early out.


It's really hard to explain to someone who is pre-op just how different eating is going to be. 

 Also bananas are on the no-go list that early out.  They have seeds.  :)

Mine was open. My incision healing was the least of my concerns post-op, to tell the truth. It took me until almost 4 months post-op to feel mostly functional, but then I am in my mid-40s, was SMO, and am a Type 1 diabetic--which means I don't make insulin, so the DS ain't curing that! Oh, and my son was 5 then and I was the sole caregiver during the day after the first week.

From what I observe here, age, number and severity of co-morbids, and ability to nap lots, plus get in fluids and protein soon are the things that affect bounce-back the most often and predictably. Sure, people can and do get wounds that don't heal well, but that seems fairly rare both here and statistically.

Mine was lap, I REALLY didn't want an open surgery. It still freaks me out sometimes when I look at my itty bitty scars and think about the complexity of the surgery that went on and how skilled my surgeon must be to be able to do that.

I have had both lap and open surgeries, but had my DS lap.     The initial post-op pain is about the same, but getting in and out of bed is easier.  The gas pain from lap surgery (they pump you up with CO2 to be able to visualize your organs and to be able to maneuver the equipment around) was pretty yukky, but my pain after three days out was definitely better with the lap.    You will likely have a drain.    My post-op pain relief was with an IV pain pump, but a lot of docs give epidurals.  I went back to work at 2.5 weeks out, and I'm an active music teacher, and did very well.  I had to take a nap every day after wor****il about 5 or 6 weeks, and that was it.
If I can offer you one piece of advice....start walking NOW.   Even if you just do ten minutes a day and start building up gradually, it's going to really help you with your post-op recovery.   Start walking as soon as they allow you to post-op.    I very strongly feel (and so does my surgeon) that post-op movement hastens recovery considerably.    It's also great for your emotional state post-op.
Good luck!

Hey there, I am a fellow Lap-Bander, who also had it removed!  There are many of us here.  The Band was a waste of time and effort, but the DS is a great tool.  Its not without its issues, nothing is perfect, but my life is so much better now.  I only wish I had found this first!

I think Open or Lap depends on your cir****tances.  I did my Band to DS revision at once, so mine was open.  Dr. G said he doesn't like to do Lap revisions, there's too much going on, and too much room for complications with such a large surgery so he wants to be able to see everything that's going on.  Makes sense to me.

The recovery sucked!  Its a drastic operation, and your insides are being all moved around, so its gonna hurt.  I don't know how much better it would be lap, but it was much worse than the Band (which is a relatively simple operation) and the recovery was longer.  I was unprepared for how long it took.  But somewhere around week six, I woke up one day, and I felt better!  Its a long road but its worth it to finally throw that monkey off your back, forever!

The drugs are great, you just sleep and it really doesn't hurt too much unless you try to move around.  I came home with a drain and a J tube.  Both were removed about a week later (gross, I know.)  

Message me if you want to talk more!
Good Luck
Ann :)