Bad Imagination

Good Morning All. I found out the I will have the Open RNY instead of the Lap RNY. My hubband is out of his mind with worry (to be honest so am I). I don't have a date, and still need to complete my one on one with Dr. Newhoff and my Psych Consult (and a few other tests). Plus my imagination is running ramped with all the things that could go wrong. I REALLY need to stay out of the complications forum. It's nice to have all the facts, but sometimes too much info isn't a blessing. Can't seem to sleep much becuase my brain won't shut off.... But I can't help but think about how things have fallen in place. Like receiving the letter from the insurance department 5 days after the D&C, and the fact that my files were open so quickly from the dr. office, and that my PCP was able to accomplish alot of the preop testing in one day. Any one know where I can find out more information on Dr. Newhoff. I've read up alot of things about him in his patient forum, but i feel like I need more info. Also, I need to find a new Psych/Theripist for the Psych consult. The one I was going to go with last year is booked up. Any help is greatly appreciated. THanks Tiff

Hey Tif! Congratulations to you for starting your journey! Dr. N is my doctor and I love him (so does my husband) My sister and I both had him as our surgeon. My sister is 3 yrs out in Apr and I will be 2 yrs out in Apr. He is a no nonsense Dr, so that may at first seem har**** is because he gives us the tool but he doesn't make it work. We are in charge after we get out of recovery. Follow his advice, don't be afraid to ask questions, and if you don't understand ask again. He has been doing this alot of years and yet he is not pompous about his skill. He knows what works. He is different from alot of the surgeons in town..he does not require liquid diet before surg. or the "clean out" before surgery. He told me have a nice meal the night before, relax and he will see ya in the morning! I had my surgery Thurs Apr 1 2004 and on Monday I was at my desk at work! Not everyone can do that but I felt great and took it easy. Moving is the key..Even if it hurts don't lay around, The more you move the quicker the recovery. I did not look at your profile, so I don't know your age but I was 52 when I did this. I haven't regretted a day. I have gone from size 26-28 to 10-12, feel good , run around with the grandkids! Keep in touch, when is your date? God Bless! Paula rny 4/1/4 330/189/maybe 20 more not pushing it!

Isn't Newhoff the one that doesn't even offer the laparoscopic option? If so, I wouldn't go with him on a dare. If you have some sort of health reason why you shouldn't have laparoscopic, that's one thing, but to choose a doctor who, for whatever reason, can't or won't update himself on the latest and safest suregery, is not a good idea in my book and provides very good grounds to wonder if you've made the right decision. Like I say, just my opinion. - Stephanie J

Is there a reason why you have to have open surgery?

I'm going to start with the last response and work backwards - Reason for Open v Lap - BCBS is the my insurance and Dr. Simon (the Dr. in the office that does RNY) isn't covered under BCBS. Lap RNY is my preference, however, I have to go with the in-network doctor which is Dr. Newhoff. In all honesty, I choose Dr. Newhoff about 3 years ago, before I got pregnant. I have a sense of trust with him. He is the first person I looked into and I researched him thoroughly. Not offering Lap RNY - There are two Dr.'s in the office Dr. Newhoff and Dr. Simon. Dr. Nehoff does the procedure open, and Dr. SImon does the procedure both Open and Lap. Dr. Newhoff (as I understand it) has been training in the Lap procedure, but prefers the open RNY. Although, I'm not big on a "huge" incision in my abdomin, I'm also not "big" on the idea of having diabetes, or having another miscarriage. So this is the route I must take if I want to be healthy and enjoy my son's childhood. Thanks - I'm not worried about deciding to go with Dr. Newhoff. I've only read revies of him out of the hundreds that were totally against him. I've been researching this for a while and I feel confident that I've made the correct desicion. I'm just worried about the healing process.... 2 year old wanna be line backers are kinda hard of Mom's who've just had surgery.

HI. I had mine done open last February. I suppose there are pros and cons to every situation... at the same time I had mine open, a girl in the hosp had one lap and ended up in ICU w/internal bleeding... so anything can happen, or NOTHING can happen. It's just a matter of cir****tance. I had BCBS in AZ too, and it was covered open, so I got it open... and glad I had it done any which way I got it. Best wishes to you...get some sleep. Liz

The bottom line is that lap is generally a safer and more humane procedure. That's why almost all doctors prefer it. I'm very sorry to hear that there seems to be no choice in the matter in this case, but there's really little question that if a procedure is routinely done laparoscopically, it's a kinder and gentler process. I'm afraid the example you use, Liz, is something similar to saying that you had a car accident and didn't get any injuries at all without a seat belt, but your friend was wearing her seat belt and did suffer injuries. It may be quite true, but just doesn't reflect statistical probability. I might also choose open if the only choice were staying morbidly and mortally obese, but that is seldom the only choice and it's sad that it seems to be in this case. Having said that, it's good that Newhoff has at least gotten some training, but the fact that he still prefers open just points up to me that he hasn't got a big problem putting women through the extra pain of it all and no matter how good and kind he may seem, the outcome of what he does (six weeks of recovery instead of a few days), is not so friendly. OK, I'll shut up now...... Good luck on whatever path you take. - Stephanie J

Tiff, Congrats on your acceptance. I had open Rny with Dr. Zahn and though my healing was slower than my DH who had the lap rny....it was not that big of a deal. The good news is that they can take a thorough "look see" when you are open and clean out fatty livers, etc. You'll be fine. I've had good friends in my support groups that have had Dr. Newhoff and have done extremely well. The bad news with him is that he does not offer a real comprehensive before and after follow up program. It will be up to you to find support groups (very very important) and so some research on post-op success. I would suggest Dr. David Seaton as a psych. He does hundreds of evaluations for WLS pre-authorization and recently spoke at our Chandler Support Group. I don't have his number but you can find him in the phone book. He's on like 19th and Bethany Home. Good luck and congrats to you! Joyce

Don't go to the complications forum!!! That is too funny!!! Stay out of there. I know several people that had OPEN RNY and had NO complications. It's safe. The only difference really is healing time. It takes a couple weeks for us laps but 4-6 weeks for opens to heal. Surgery is the same. Have you tried Dr. Barbara Maxwell at St. Luke's. She works with all the surgeons at St. Luke's and Good Sam and she approved me right through. Hang in there. Stay positive. Don't go reading the problem boards. Remember positive thoughts = positive results! Trisha

HI TRISHA! Glad to see you! I'm doing my best to stay positive. Had a little crying spell last night - and for those who know me - I don't cry that often. Unless I'm laughing. I just pray this whole thing works out. I pray that I stay focused on the positive side, and a safe outcome. Thanks! Tiff