Why do RNY?

Thanks for all your replies. My wife is having lapband done and I think i'm going to stick with rny.

Goodluck to you and your wife! I wish you a speedy recovery.

One other point to consider is the procedure your insurance allows/pays for. If you are private pay, your situation is different, but my insurance only covers gastric bypass. Linn Lap RNY 02/17/04 -76#

Victor Your asking RNYers about the Lap Band, and that just doesn't get good answers. It's like asking the Coka-Cola company what Pepsi tastes like. Just about everything said about the band in the posts above isn't true. Bandsters getting an RNY is VERY rare these days. But RNYers getting the band added to their pouch is a new idea that is spreading fast. A couple of people at the Lap Band forum have had it done. And you lose more weight over 3 to 5 years with the Lap Band than RNY. Come to the Lap Band forum and get the real answers. http://obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/surgtype-forums/LapBand/posts.html Richard

Richard, Could you please share exactly where you get this data? "And you lose more weight over 3 to 5 years with the Lap Band than RNY." I would really like to know. I asked Dr. Shawn Garber in the OH chat earlier this evening if this was the case. That at 3-5 years the band loss was better and he seemed to think otherwise. So I would be interested in reading the data you are refering to. Thank you so much!! Eva

If you are considering the rny,you should look in to the duodenal switch referred to as the "DS". It is a good one. The thing I like about the lap band idea *i am pre-wls, is that it is so much less invasive! If you have a hard time with the idea of getting your intestines/stomach chopped up as in some of the other ops, it would be a better option! I am personally opting for the ds, but may try the lap band instead if that doesn't work out for me. Irene

DS was not an option for me, my doc only does the DS on people with a BMI of over 50.

Two days before my surgery I found out I was getting the Distal Rny instead of the DS. I was VERY upset because my doctor did both surgeries but would not give me the DS because he said if have any kind of stomach problems later on in life (like cancer) they can't go back and give you part of your stomach back once they've taken it out. I thought I would lose more weight with DS but I've already lost 75 lbs in 5 /12 months. I only need to lose another 27 lbs to be at goal. I've also met people who had the Band, the DS, and the proximal Rny. They all lost weight and have kept it off. I think they are all good surgeries but I think my doctor is right, you should get one that can be reversed just in case something does happen later on. I also really like the Distal Rny (more of the intestines are bypassed so your body doesn't have time to absorb the food you do it). I was told to eat 80 grams of protein a day, no more than 10 grams of fat or sugar and eat as much as I want. It's working, I lose more when I eat more.

Regarding the two replies immediately above mine (if I get this in quickly): 1) My surgeons (the Rabkins in SF) prefer the DS for ALL BMIs -- mine was 48. 2) One of my primary arguments for having the DS instead of the RNY was *because* I have a family history of stomach cancer; with the RNY, 90% of my stomach would be in a blind pouch inaccessible to endoscopy -- if I developed cancer, I would have to have surgery for a diagnosis, instead of endoscopy. Also, with the DS, a significant amount of old stomach is REMOVED, but grows back to ~2/3 of its original size after 2 years. Furthermore, if you have defunctionalized 90% of your stomach as with the RNY, it is unlikely that the unused part of the stomach could be made functional again after a certain amount of time, particularly the pyloric valve. I don't understand your surgeon's rationale at all. Diana