Question:
open vs lap..resect the stomach vs not..too many decisions!!!
Last week I went for my first visit with the ARNP ..all went well and I am leaning toward open vs lap..but I had to decide on resecting the stomach vs not resecting so I could pick which doctor(one is trained one way, one the other)..my question is what are the pros and cons of this!??! — Anne B. (posted on July 29, 2002)
July 29, 2002
I too am facing the same delima. I thought that I wanted lap because it
would not leave that much if a scar and I would be back to normal more
quickly, not to mention the fact that I would not be able to pick up my 2
year old for about 6 weeks. But I am not leaning towars open because I
would just feel more comfortable knowing that the surgeon was looking at
the actual body and not depening on camaras to be his eyes. There are
minimal risk with it. I also am not a fan of being unconscious for 3-4 hour
either. So the answer for me was Open beacause it is easier for the surgeon
and you would not have to be "under" for so long. I hope this
helps.
— Teekay80
July 29, 2002
Ok I had a few typos in the last answer... I am NOW leaning toward open.
— Teekay80
July 29, 2002
Personally, I chose a proximal RNY, Lap instead of open, and my doctor
transects the stomach because he feels there's less chance of a disruption
that way, and thus less chance of needing a revision down the road. He is
an experienced lap surgeon, who does all his surgeries lap and will open
only if needed, so I was completely comfortable with his skills in doing
the procedure lap. At the time of my surgery (18 months ago) my kids were
12, 7 and 5. My surgery was on a Monday - I was home Tuesday and back to
work the next week. One of the main reasons I chose lap was because of the
recovery time. I've had 3 C-Secions and an appenedectomy (all open) and
the RNY was a "piece of cake" compared to those. I've had zero
complications and have been maintaining my goal weight now for about 6
months, having lost 135 pounds. For me, I'm glad of the decisions I made,
but you need to do what's best for you. Only you and your doctor can make
that decision. Best wishes!
— T.L. S.
July 29, 2002
I too, had a similar experience. I was all set to do lap until the night
before. Because of a mix up with the pre-op tests, my surgeon said he
would proceed open. The anesthesiologist came in before hand and said he
was so glad I switched to open. He says since you are "under"
for a much shorter time, there is less of a risk for those types of
complications. Now I am glad I had open, because my recovery time was
really fast and I had no probs. with the incision. My surgeon only
transects because he feels it is much safer.
— emilyfink
July 29, 2002
I would go with the Open and definately TRANSECTED!
— Danmark
July 29, 2002
Well how many surgeries do you want? 30% of OPENS get a incisional hernia
that requires yet another surgery. The LAP rate of hernias is near
ZERO!<P> Transected is the way to go, since there again a large
number that arent end up with another surgery, as a revision. Michelle
Curran went thru this. LAPs have easier recoveries, less chance of
infection too. Its largely a matter of what your surgeon is willing to
do...
— bob-haller
July 29, 2002
I had to go back in for incisional hernia when my staple line disrupted
and it is not a fun thing. Still I would do it again because as BOB says
"post op is the place to be!" I know a lot of people who have
disrupted because they wern't transected so definitely transected is the
best way. That way you have a permanent pouch and it won't undo. As far
as lap vs open, I would have rather had lap but open was my only choice.
— Mylou52
July 29, 2002
The decision of Lap vs Open could be decided by your bmi - I didn't look at
your profile so I don't know how much you have to lose. My surgeon only
does open because he says he prefers to see AND feel what he is doing when
dealing with morbid obesity. But no matter which procedure, go for
transected - too many people have to be revised because of leaks the other
way.
As far as recovery is concerned, I had open RNY and returned to work less
than 2 weeks after my surgery (and I returned to full days). I am 55 years
old and weighed 346 pounds when I had surgery so you can't say that I did
so well because I was young or a lightweight. I just know that this is the
best thing I have ever done for myself. My surgery was 8 months ago today
and I have lost 125 pounds and that is with losing only 5 pounds the last
two months (can we say plateau?).
Best of luck to you.
— Patty_Butler
July 29, 2002
Lap and weight do go together. Heavier BMIs require longer LAP tools that
not all hospitals can afford. Then too some surgeons do higher BMIs LAP
than others. My wife was LAP with a BMI of near 60. Her surgeon said she
had about a 15% chance of ending up open if complications arose. Her
surgery was 1.5 hours and LAP was a success.She is no under 200 pounds
which thrills her.
— bob-haller
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