Trying to decide

Velda B.
on 11/24/06 6:47 am - Des Moines, IA
I have so many questions about WLS. I have finally made up my mind to have it and am going to be going to two classes in December. One place does the less evasive surgery and the other only does the open. I am thinking I want the less evasive. But I have been researching and have a question I have not been able to find the answer to. How long is the surgery if you have the Lab RYG? I know this can very per person but just some ideal whould sure help.....
jeanlewis
on 11/24/06 11:30 am - Newton, IA
It would help if you could define what is a "Lab RYG"??? Never heard of it. jean
Velda B.
on 11/24/06 9:00 pm - Des Moines, IA
Jean, sorry for the confusion. In my haste for help I combined two things. The surgerys that I was talking about were the open RNY verses the Lap RNY. Sorry again for the confusion.
jeanlewis
on 11/24/06 10:43 pm - Newton, IA
Velda, I had lap RNY gastric bypass nearly 2 years ago now at Mercy Capitol in Des Moines. Excellent program with excellent follow up care for two years. I don't know how long my surgery lasted. That part wasn't important to me at the time. My life was a big ball of nothing back then and I was so unhappy with myself and my fat situation that I was at a point of not caring whether I actually came through it or not. Having surgery was my last chance effort at losing weight for real and living a normal life. And......IT WORKED!!!!! I have lost all my weight and I live a life now that I only could dream about living two years ago, never thinking I could ever have. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for having surgery now. I chose a program that routinely does laproscopic because I wanted the least amount of down time possible and the lower infection rate. I did end up with a tremendous g-tube infection despite everything, so you can never know for sure how it is going to turn out. Expect the worst and be grateful when it's not that bad. Good luck in making your decision. I think it is a life-saving procedure. jean
Velda B.
on 11/25/06 12:04 am - Des Moines, IA
Jean, thanks again for the information. It not so much me I am worried about with the surgery. I just do not want my husband freaking out for several hours. He has just gotten used to the ideal of this happening and I know it will be hard to hear hours of waiting. But I have come this far and am not going to turn back.
tagger57
on 11/24/06 11:46 am - Newton, IA
If you are talking about how long are you actually in surgery it is slightly longer for lap if I remember correctly. Still I believe both are under 3 hours. I had Lap RNY (along with hiatal hernia and umbilical hernia surgery at the same time) in Grinnell with Dr. Coster. I had some really minor problems which kept me in the hospital a couple extra days. Although I was in the hospital for 5 days the average is 3 or less without complications for most people. As far as pain, I hit the pain pump only once and honestly I didn't need it that time. I never took any pain pills when I got home. I was back at work only 13 days after the surgery however I have a desk job. My wife had open RNY at Grinnell with Dr. Coster and she had a very good experience also. She was only in the hospital 3 days after the surgery and returned to work fully about 5 weeks later although she probably could have returned sooner. She had to be a little bit more careful doing any kind of abdominal work due to the incision. My opinion...........both are good. I have lost just over 100 pounds and my wife has lost just over 140 pounds (she had more to lose). We are both happy with the surgeries we had. If you would like to talk to us one on one send me a note. In fact we should be in Des Moines several times in the next few weeks with the holiday shopping season. Good luck. Hawkeye Mike
Velda B.
on 11/24/06 9:03 pm - Des Moines, IA
Mike, thanks so very much that was a lot of help!! I saw somethings after the post that said it could take up to six hours. Seems like a very long time for me, and being under that longed really scared me. But it would not change my mind. I must have this done, I want to be healthy.
dixielee
on 11/25/06 1:04 pm - Tripoli, IA
Hi Velda, Routinely, my surgeon's LAP RNY's take about 1.5-2 hours, depending on if the gall bladder is also removed or if there are probelms. He does very few opens so I can't say how long they take but for most surgeons the open is a bit shorter surgery. Going the less envasive route is the best in my opinion. Recovery time is much shorter, hospital stay is shorter, & chances of hernias are almost nil. Wound infections are also less. Just make sure your surgeon has experience. It's been documented that there are less chance of problems if they have done at least 100. Good luck! Dixie
Velda B.
on 11/25/06 9:49 pm - Des Moines, IA
Dixie, thanks so much for responding. That is very good information! Well I no longer have a gall bladder so that should help me. I am looking more at Mercy Cap program at this point. And from what I hear the surgeons there are pretty experienced. I will keep you updated. Thanks again, Velda
jeanlewis
on 11/26/06 8:39 am - Newton, IA
Just for a point of information.....if you go with the Mercy program, you might like to know that all their surgeires start out as laproscopic. They only convert to open if absolutely necessary. Another interesting item is that there are always TWO surgeons performing the operation. Your main surgeon, and then one of the other two that are part of the bariatric program. My surgeon was dr. Smolik and the assist was Cahalan. It was comforting to me to know there were two pairs of eyes on those scopes and monitors. jean
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