Question:
Why do most people opt for RNY surgery versus Lap-Band?
I went to a WLS seminar last week and the Lap-Band surgery was by far the safer of the three procedures the surgeon talked about. I'm just wondering if it is as effective as the RNY procedure or does it depend on what region of the country you live in? — Pat S. (posted on October 21, 2002)
October 21, 2002
For ME! I nearly got the band, the whole start of my profile is Lap Band.
But I loved milkshakes and high calorie liquids. They are band friendly:( I
feared the band wouldnt work. That combined with my surgeon saying he didnt
think my wife was a good band candidate since she was a super morbid. 4FT
10in 293 pounds. So I figured we should both have the same surgery and am
thrilled with my decision.<P> There are very successful banders out
there. But my being sweet eater would of caused yet another weight loss
failure. Personally I think the band is better for volume eaters. I had
maybe half of a small dairy queen shake a few weeks ago. I dont dump butr
the icky feeling I got is a great remineder that is a bad food choice. If I
crave something long enough I will have some, and honestly havent wanted DQ
since.
— bob-haller
October 21, 2002
I personally opted for the Lap RNY because I didn't want the long-term
commitment to seeing my physician for fills and such that I believe is
necessary for a LapBand. Also and probably more importantly, the thought
of the port under my skin kinda gave me the heebie-jeebies. I think the
LapBand is probably amazing for the right folks and I've seen some
fantastic results. I guess it's always just a matter of INDIVIDUAL choice.
— Karen K.
October 21, 2002
According to my surgeon the Open RNY is proven to have better results as
far as weight loss and long term success. He prefers to do the procedure
over the lap as a lot of physicians do. Though the recovery time is
quicker for lap I am very happy I had the Open RNY. I saw a comment about
long term commitment to seeing a Dr. I saw my Dr. 3 times the first 6
weeks after surgery and then in September was told he didn't have to see me
again until December, so I don't think it's that big of a commitment. I am
having fabulous results...I am down 75lbs. in 13 weeks since surgery!!!!!
— Trish R.
October 21, 2002
The reason I chose RNY was simple, I looked at ALL options including the
band. The one thing I didn't see with the RNY that I was able to see with
all the others, was a failure rate. Several people that got the band, later
opted to have WLS again to switch to RNY bewcause they lost weight and then
regained it again. 30% of band patients regain some or all of their weight.
I figured if I was going to go through MAJOR surgery, and have to go
through all that pain and discomfort, I was only going to do it once. So, I
went with the GOLD STANDARD surgery of WLS. Like I said all surgeries have
their success stories, and ultimately you have to decide on what is right
for you and your lifestyle and abilities. I suggest you do some research on
all the available surgeries, and choose the one that you are most
comfortable with, and you feel you can have they greatest success with.
Ther are many roads toi choose from and they all lead to weight loss. Good
luck!!!
— dkinson
October 21, 2002
Just like some of the other posters, I first considered the Lap
Band...until my doctor said it was not for me. He flat out told me he
would rather see me get the RNY. He told me that the Lap Band and the VBG
(my second choice) were not optimum choices for me, because it has been
proven that eventually people find a way to eat around them. With the RNY
I would not be in the position I am now-in ten years. I am only 24. I
only want to do this once. However, I have two cousins who did the Lap
Band and have had great success. My mom had the VBG and succeeded. It
really depends on your personal wants.
— Ann H.
October 21, 2002
I also pursued the band at first. I chose the RNY since the success rate
appears lower for the band... at least here in the US... maybe because it's
so new. I also felt I needed the RNY to keep me honest in terms of sugar.
I don't believe the restrictive only procedures (VBG or Lap Band) would
have worked as well for me because of my carb addiction. I would have
cheated if I could have. That said, if I was chosing between the VBG or
the lap band, I would choose the lap band since it seems to solve the
problem of the pouch stretching down the road.
— mom2jtx3
October 21, 2002
I too researched the band in-depth. When the request got submitted to my
insurance company, it crashed and burned. They will only cover RNY and
VBG. Since I didn't want the VBG because of regain issues, I opted for the
RNY. This seems to have the longest standing recoed for success anyway.
~Lap RNY Surgery date 12/16/02~
— Toni C.
October 21, 2002
People choose the RNY because the weight loss is faster. I'm convinced
that's the main reason. Also, UNFORTUNATELY, insurance companies are more
likely to cover the RNY.
European and Australian research has shown the band to be just as effective
over the long run as the other surgeries.
I chose the band and it is getting more popular everyday. It's the most
commonly done weight loss surgery in the world.
It's safety and adjustability as well as it's lack of cutting digestive
system are why I chose it.
Also, the band has only been approved in the U.S. a little over a year. I
had my surgery in Mexico and MANY of the bandsters had their surgery in a
foreign country. As the band gets more widespread in the U.S., I think it
will replace the RNY.
All surgeries are not created equal.
— M. B.
October 21, 2002
Hi Pat:
The surgeon in my network who I feel a comfort level with did not do lap
bands. I was anxious to get surgery, and felt I would have to wait for a
long time for the lap band. Good luck to you in whatever you decide.
Love Grace
— Grace H.
October 21, 2002
I think most opt for the RNY because:
(1) U.S. Bariatric physicians overwhelmingly have experience doing the RNY
and don't do Lap-Band. They must learn about the surgery and learn more
about the follow-up care. This is happening...GRADUALLY. The Lap-Band
research presented at the last ASBS (American Society for Bariatric
Surgery) convention was negative, largely because the FDA trials were
poorly managed and thus had poor results. More long-term studies are
needed to prove the efficacy of the band surgery.
Join the group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters in order to
read a message from a successful bandster who was at the last ASBS
convention and reported on it. Once you have joined, you can read her
message at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SmartBandsters/message/8210
This same bandster's success story is on her website at:
http://www.newyouwmc.com/
(2) Insurance companies still consider Lap-Band "experimental" or
"too new". Therefore, they tend to deny requests for lap-band
surgery. This is also a MAJOR--and underappreciated--reason why U.S.
surgeons aren't encouraging patients to have the band surgery. It's a
Catch-22 situation.
(3) The Lap-Band requires very specialized skills (i.e., laparoscopic
surgery) and requires follow-up care that is not familiar to many bariatric
surgeons.
(4) Because of the aforementioned points, most post-ops that people talk to
on this site and in real life are RNY post-ops. Therefore, the momentum is
still largely towards the RNY.
— itsyvonne
October 21, 2002
FOR ME THERE WAS NO OTHER SURGERY TO CONSIDER,ONLY THE LAPBAND CAME CLOSE
TO WHAT I WANTED. I NEVER TRIED TO CONSIDER IT WAS THE TOTAL ANSWER TO MY
PROBLEM, ONLY A TOOL TO HELP. THE WORK TO ACHIEVE MY PURPOSE HAS TO COME
FROM ME AND ONLY I CAN DO IT. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS, IS THAT NOW, I HAVE
THE HELP NECESSARY TO SUCCEED.
NO, IT ISN'T THE GOLD STANDARD IN THIS COUNTRY LIKE IT IT IS ELSEWHERE
BECAUSE OUR SURGEONS AREN'T ALL TRAINED TO DO IT. BUT COME ON, IT IS: 1.
THE SAFEST
2. THE LEAST INVASIVE 3. REVERSIBLE IF A PROBLEM SHOULD ARISE
4.ADJUSTABLE 5. MORE LONG TERM EFFECTIVE 6. WHAT YOU... MAKE OF IT
BANDED 10/15/02 AND THRILLED
— DIANE E.
October 21, 2002
I posted earlier, but saw a response from M. Priest below...the RNY will
NEVER be replaced by the band, that is a silly notion...this surgery has
been performed since the late 60's and is the ONLY option out of the many
the PROVES long term success..I do believe what one chooses is a personal
choice, but as another poster mentioned the lap is too easy to learn to eat
around and failure rates are much higher. I believe that the lap may be
more successful with a candidate who doesn't have a lot to loose...there
are a lot of people on this very site that had RNY AFTER having the lap
that didn't give good results...I am thoroughly convinced that my surgeon
who is voted among the best in my state knows what he is saying-that the
RNY is a far better procedure for long term success. While I am not
doubting others have had success with the lap, this is a very, very
controversial subject among Dr.'s who perform weightloss surgery.
— Trish R.
October 21, 2002
You have already had many helpful responses but I wanted to add just one
more. I keep hearing that the band is not a good idea if you are a sweet
eater. My old alias truly could have been "Cookie Monster" I can
not think of a single sweet that I didn't like. Now that I have the band
that has truly changed. I no longer care much about any sweets, I prefer
protien. Even when I have decided that I really wanted a sweet I can only
eat a very small amount (maybe two oreos.) The lap band is just a tool like
any other surgery, but it has been the right choice for me. Recovery time
was very quick and I made it to goal in 6 months. Good luck with whatever
decision you make!
— Caddy W.
October 21, 2002
I've chosen the Lap-band because of the following reasons: 1) almost
non-existent morbidity; 2) no dumping syndrome; 3) long-term studies find
that it has the same success rate/weightloss (Europe / Austrailia) as the
RNY; 4) long term failure rate/weight gain is about the same; 5) if I
become chronically ill, the band can be removed; and 6) no
malnutrition/absorbtion issues. I know successful RNY surgeries, I know
successful Lap-band surgeries (350 lb loss). We all need to remember we're
in this for the same reason . . .
— Jennie M.
October 22, 2002
I can't speak for all, but from the 2 people I have know who had
Lap Band, both have had problems. One ended up having RNY and the other
lost a lot of weight, but still ate high calorie sugary stuff and
has now put back on most of the weight he had lost. I opted for RNY and
use
to crave sugary stuff like crazy. I have dumped a couple of times
even on sugar free sweets and have lost any desire for that type of junk
any more.
— Dell H.
October 22, 2002
The lap band is less invasive than the rny so it does appear to be somewhat
safer.
My personal oppinion is that it all depends on the skill of the surgeon. My
doctor has been doing open rny for 20 years and has lost ONE patient. He is
very strict about making you walk after surgery and expects you to follow
his eating plan. It sure seems to be working.
Keep doing your research and decide which surgery is best for YOU. Don't
let your doctor or anyone on this or any other site try to bully you into a
procedure you don't feel comfortable with.
— georgiacarol
October 24, 2002
Like others here have posted, I also started out pursuing the Lap Band.
However, my surgeon explained that because I started out SMO, a
malabsorptive procedure was a better choice. Indeed, my GNT and I had
already determined that I seemed to have too long of an intestinal dwell
time, something, it seems, that is not uncommon for MO people. So, the RNY
gave me the smaller capacity as the Lap Band would have done, and also
assisted with moving waste more rapidly through my intestines. There are,
and I sure shall continue to be, many successful Lap-Banders. My surgeon
feels, and upon further research I had to agree, that for someone who is
SMO, a malabsorptive procedure is necessary as well. All the best to you.
— CaseyinLA
October 24, 2002
Colleen. That was an excellent explanation. Thank goodness it will now be
in our library.
— faybay
October 24, 2002
At first, I was opting for the Lap Band, too. My doc said that the RNY was
the way to go for me because I would lose a greater percentage of my
weight, as the stats show. Also, found out later that my insurance would
not cover lap band, anyway.
— Alice D.
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