Complications with RNY

Hello!  I am in the midst of deciding between the band and the RNY.  I am wondering if the complications people fear are during surgery or after surgery?   Once the surgery is over do people still need to worry about complications?  I have posted some questions with the band folks and so many of them chose not to get RNY due to mortality rates????  I went to the meeting at Methodist last night and did not feel that the death rate was high?????    Your thoughts??

I didn't think the deathrate was that high either. but death is still death. There is the potential for complications from either type of surgery. I had over 150 lbs to lose so my surgeon felt the RNY would be better for me. You don't have to decide right away and this is something I would suggest for you to discuss during your nurse visit, they can give you literature on both surgeries, and depending on much weight you have to lose might be able to recommed?

I originally wanted the band, but a few people posted me saying to e-mail them private so I did.  They told me their stories of how they had the band and had them removed to have the RNY anyway.  Their stories changed my mind and I had the RNY instead and have never regretted it.

At the last PNC support group meeting, Dorothy, the nurse, said that when deaths occur after RNY they almost always happen AFTER surgery - it's rare that they occur during and the one that she knew of that did was because of heart attack or stroke.  It's true that the seriousness of a complication with RNY is greater than that during Lapband.  My understanding is that the long-term complications with lapband are far greater than with RNY, although most are more inconveniences than true risks, such as something getting stuck, fills/unfills and then there are those things that are more serious that could require more surgery: band reject by your body, erosion of your stomach, band slippage etc. Personally, I was told that I was too heavy for the lapband and that it is not as effective in women as it is in men. Good luck with your decision.

Hello, From someone who had two complications from surgery, they are there, dont get me wrong, but the RNY in the long term had been around a lot longer, the long term affects have been observed, where they haven't in Lapband, and the death from surgery complications can happen in EITHER surgery. Any time you go under anesthesia, you risk a PE, Heartattack, Stroke, being over anesthetised, and poor surgeons. The complications after can be similar, although the risk of a leak is not there, there is the risk of the band perforating the stomach essentially causing the same issue. I had bleeding at my suture site after surgery, resulting in 2 transfusions, and I also had a leak 8 days out, resulting in emergency surgery. Having gone through all that, I have had no other major complications, and would again in a heartbeat choose to have the RNY. Having a good surgeon who has done many of these procedures and who is very aware of the complications is the best defense. I have lost 103 pounds in 6 months, that never could have happened with lapband. However, each person has to weigh their own personal pros and cons. Does Sh*( happen, yes, is it worth taking the risk? Heck yeah!!

From what I have learned, our MN surgeons seem to have a pretty good handle on keeping us alive during and after surgery.  I'm not aware of any programs in the metro area who even rank close to the national average of WLS related deaths.  And, according to the last information meeting I attended at my surgery center, most WLS related deaths tend to be related to improper care after surgery (over-eating within days and busting stitches or staples, not taking vitamins and developing severe health probs down the road...).  Yes, there is a risk.  Yes, complications do happen that are nobody's fault.  But I don't think the mortality rates are necissarily higher from one method to the other.  I, however, am not an absolute expert.  I could be deslusional, or simply misinformed.  Good luck! I chose RNY because of the amount of weight I had to lose, and because of the lifestyle changes that I would be required to make.  I felt I needed the extra boost of possible dumping and such from fats and sweets.  And I didn't want to have to keep going back to get the band adjusted.  And my understanding is that slippage or corrosion of the band is not uncommon.  I may be wrong.  I don't mean to be slandering the band if I am.  I'm just saying that those were my impressions, and the general things that guided me to make the decision that was right for me.   Again, Good luck!

Lisa, I, too, started out thinking I was going in for the lapband. Then at my meeting I found that it was only around for like the last 12 years...so there is no long term history! So what happens AFTER 12 yrs I kept asking myself....no one else could tell me either. It was at that point that I decided I was going with the RNY...I know that has been around and has been dealt with for years...which also means "improvements" and better knowledge. That was my deciding factor.  Like others have said, any surgery itself is a risk. Complications seem to be more right after and a good surgeon will take good care of you and handle anything that comes up. Just follow all Dr. orders though so you can avoid self complications. I am only 5 wks out and with the exception of a slight esophugal irratation (who knows what from) I'm doing just great!