Question for those that had an open DS

Open has a higher risk of  a certain type of hernia (incisional, I think) at the incisional line.

Lap has  a higher risk of a certain type of hernia (internal, I think) deeper in your abdomen.


I had mine open and was up walking about that evening after surgery.  I did have a long and difficult recovery but I did end up getting a small incisional hernia. I didn't know it at the time but that is what was making my recovery take so long.

Hernias occur in a percentage of cases for both LAP AND Open.

I don't believe (based only on my own personal experience) that it comes with more pain.  I have had several previous Lap surgeries (ovary removal, tubal ligation) and in both those lap surgeries I had considerable pain although I know we aren't comparing the same surgeries.

Just from reading on these boards I know some Lap people had difficult recoveries and some Open people hit the gate running without any or hardly any pain.

Like my friend who had his Open DS a few months ago like 10 weeks ago and his recovery has been AMAZING, really incredible.   I'm like "Are you sure you had surgery?" LOL

So it varies. the MOST important thing is the surgeon period. If he has done many opens and few laps, go with the open.  Go with whatever the surgeon is most skilled at!

Lots of us have Open, I don't regret it.

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My DS was open and I had a normal, OMG-I've-been-hit-by-a-truck recovery.

I could have paid $2k more for lap, but didn't think it was worth it.

Most of the cutting takes place inside and is the same in both. The incision pain was like a paper cut compared to all the other pain.

Definitely shouldn't be a deal breaker.

I had my DS laproscopic, but told my surgeon several times that if he needed to open me up to get it done, by all means do so!

I would have gone through anything to get my DS.

You've got to think that regardless of the incision size, the same stuff happens inside, which is where the real pain comes from.  I had my DS open, its the only way my doc did it, and I was just fine with her eyes and hands being right in there with as much as she was doing.  My incision was glued all the way down, so no sutures to worry about, and it was healed in about 10 days.  Now, even with the incision healed, I was pretty listless for several weeks, which I attribute to the big changes going on inside of me.  IMHO and experience, it shouldn't be a dealbreaker at all.

Thank you all for responding! 

I guess it makes sense but I didn't even think about there being no gas pains with the open. I do worry about the pain of the incision too but from what some of you had said, it could be less painful than a lap (from no gas pains).

For those that have had plastics for their excess skin on their abdomen, does having an open procedure with the DS (or other surgeries) make it more difficult to remove this skin? Does the scar from the open end up getting removed anyway here? Or will I always be stuck with that scar?

Thanks!

 I didn't have mine open, but i feel like i need to chime in here.  I had mine Lap and had ZERO gas and Zero gas pains.  My friend Laura (bookfaerie) also had her's done lap by the same surgeon and she too didn't experience any gas.  Her recovery was harder since she ended up needing a second surgery a couple of days after the DS but my recovery so far has been totally uneventful.  Physically I feel totally fine--very little discomfort at the incision site and no pain or swelling in my abdomen.  I can sleep on my stomach (I've been doing this since day when I got home from the hospital) I can bend down and pick things up, and I can walk around like a "normal" person.  I would NEVER have believed that I would feel this good less than 2 weeks out.  I stopped the morphine pump at the end of my second day and haven't been on any pain pills since then.  

I'm not saying that I'm typical but I want you to know that just because it's done lap, doesn't mean that you'll have a lot of gas.  Also, my surgery was only 3 hours--not sure how long it would have been if he had been done open but i've heard open can take as long as 2.5 hours or more.  

I did tell my surgeon that he was welcome to do my surgey open if necessary.  It definitely wasn't a deal breaker.

Sheri

Mine was open and recovery was no big deal! I flew across the country to get back home 9 days after surgery. Everyone is different though. I had my Gall Bladder out lap. and don't remember it being a big deal either. So I believe I have a higher pain tolerance than others.
That being said, I am so happy with this surgery that I would not hesitate to have it again even with an increase in pain! It has been a great gift!

My surgeon only performs the DS open; but offered to assit another surgeon lap if I chose. Since my doctor is nothing short of fabulous, I had open DS and had recovered with no problems. Eight months later I had incisional hernia repair. Would I do it open over again? Yep, sure would.

Mine was open (with Dr.Crookes at USC), I had worked myself up thinking it was going to be horrid!  I wasn't as bad as I thought, but was no picnic.  I was sore, but binder helped make it feel " Secure" . I would do it again in a heartbeat. I was sore for a few weeks