Question:
Is there a link between the death rate and the open RNY or Lap Rny?
It seems so far that doctors doing the OPen RNY have a lower death rate than Lap, is this true. — sheila F. (posted on November 20, 2002)
November 20, 2002
I don't beleive there is any truth to that. I had lap a week and 1/2 ago
and am doing quite well. I must say my recovery is only 1/4 of the recovery
time of those who have had this procedure open. It is my understanding that
those who have it done open have a higher chance of having hernias and the
recovery time is rough. The surgery is the exact same just done
differently. All in all I think the importiant thing is to get the best
doctor you can.
— Colleen S.
November 20, 2002
That seems crazy to me -- where did you get that idea/statistic? It seems
to me that with lap surgery there is less cutting, less blood, less chance
for infection. Now, of course, I'm sure there are lap surgeons out there
who don't know what they're doing....but I'm also sure there are open
surgeons who don't know what they're doing. If you've got a source, cite
it -- I'd be really interested! Thanks....
— Tamara K.
November 20, 2002
There are NO surgical procedures without risk of death or complications.
The entire issue of which approach is better....lap or open.....rests
entirely with the experience and expertise of the surgeon. In the hands of
an expert laparascopic surgeon, the risks of excessive blood loss,
infection, post-op hernia, and post-op pain are dramatically
decreased....and post-op recovery time is much more rapid. Many people
quote a 1 in 200 mortality rate for WLS, and that is probably an accurate
figure across the board, but it also includes mortality rates from surgeons
who are "new" at performing WLS, or have less experience than
those board-certified bariatric surgeons who have been performing these
surgeries for years. Our surgeon is one of the pioneers in the field of
laparascopic WLS, and has performed over 1400 surgeries with only two
mortalities which were unrelated to the surgery itself. It is critical for
all pre-op patients to do as much research as possible when selecting a
surgeon. I would rather have an open surgery any day than to have
laparascopic surgery with an inexperienced surgeon. Five of us in our
family have now had completely complication-free lap RNY surgeries and
post-op courses, and couldn't be happier with our decisions. Best wishes!
— Diana T.
November 20, 2002
I had open, but I'm not biased. I did open because that's what my surgeon
did. I would have taken either. From what I've read lap actually has less
of a complication factor (less hernias, less bleeding issues, etc.), but as
someone pointed out - make sure you have a surgeon with experience in
whichever procedure he/she is going to perform on you!
— [Deactivated Member]
November 20, 2002
There is no scientific proof either way. Sometimes when I read I get the
impression that laps get more nics to colons etc. But truth is that it all
depends on who is posting that week. There are so many variables with any
surgery, that I agree that you should do what your surgon is most
experienced with. I recovered easier and faster that the people who had
laps at the same time. But that was just me.
Do your research on your doc.
— faybay
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