Open vs. Lap RNY …Fobi?
I am debating whether it is worth the pain and longer recovery time
to have an open RNY vs. lap RNY. The surgeon I picked only does open
procedures because he does a FOBI pouch with a silastic ring, and I
guess you can’t put the ring in unless you do it open. The ring is
suppossed to keep the outlet of the stomach from stretching and
allow for longer period of rapid weight loss and less regaining in
the future. My surgeon’s partners do the FOBI pouch without the
ring using a lap procedure. I am wondering, since I only have one
shot at this surgery, should I go with the open procedure with the
ring or the lap without the ring.
August 26th, 2004 at 11:27 am
My surgeon does a variation of that surgery using a
mesh ring around the stoma as an open surgery, which
is what I had done 3 months ago. My open surgery was
done as out-patient (my surgeon is nationally known
for this and has never lost a soul in his 23 years
practicing)and by the end of week one, I was walking
around the mall for several hours with little to no
pain. I was off of all pain meds after 3 days and had
no pain at all by mid-week 2. I fully believe that
walking and losing weight before surgery played a
major role in MY quick healing and all of my docs
other patients as well. He has us up and walking about
5-7 hours after surgery and walking every 2 hours from
there out. Pre-op, he requires us to lose 10-15% of
our weight to aid in healing and also help to not get
hernias. A lot of people hear that and say “well if I
could lose it on my own I wouldn’t need surgery…blah
blah blah” but the benefits of losing the weight far
out-weigh the time and energy it takes to lose the
required pounds. I think if you are at least
exercising pre-op and get walking as soon as possible
after surgery, then you should have no problem with an
open surgery. The ring will help long-term, so I would
go for it if I were you. My step-mom had Lap-RNY and
had many more problems than I did, so I think it
depends on your surgeon and your mind-set. Good luck
to you in what ever you choose!
Amber