Anyone have an open RNY?

Just curious, how often this happens? What was your recovery like? Why did it end up open?

Thanks!

I think there is a person in my surgeon's support group who said she had a problem and they went back in the next day and corrected it via an open surgery.  Other than that I do not know anyone who needed a open surgery in the past several years. My dr had me sign a consent form that he could switch to open if he needed to (He did not need to and I also needed a hiatal hernia repair at same time.)

If you are worried, you might have a discussion with your surgeon about lap VSG vs open RNY. (That is what Dr. N has done on My 600 pounds life when he could not do a lap RNY.) 

Hi Mamma Kathy .I just had my surgery on 5/9/16 and it was an open RNY. I had no choice but to have it done open because I had a fundoplictation procedure when I was 12 and that was open. My surgery was very complicated and ended up taking 5 hours.l had to have my fundoplictation taken down a paraesophsgeal hernia repaired and a parcial gastrectomy due to all the scar tissue from my former surgery .I am 1 week 5 days out and can get around pretty good now but the first week was quite painful.I am sure your procedure will go alot smother then mine good luck.

Junegirl72,

This is what I am fearful of for me...I have had numerous surgeries too. I have had a partial pancreatectomy with splenectomy, partial nephrectomy, cholecystectomy, etc. etc. I know my stomach is mis-shapened from all the scar tissue. Doc thinks I might not even be able to have it done at all. I was hoping to hear a story like yours...  How many days were you in the hospital?

Thanks!

Mine was open because I have had quite a few previous surgeries. It's a lot tougher than lap but I didn't have a lot of pain. Just don't make my mistake and start lifting things too early, hernias love incisions 

Kathyjs,

Can you share what type of surgeries you have had? See above for some of mine.... How long were you in the hospital? How long did it take you to get back to work?
Thank you!

Mine was open. 27 staples down the center of my stomach.  Im not sure how often it happens but it did for me. 

What was my recovery like?

My recovery was 4 days and  3 nights in the hospital. I had to wait til the next day around noon before they moved the cathater out. Then the Physical Therapist came in and had me stand up. OMG that hurt soo bad. But each time it was a little easier. I was on a PCA pump for the first 2 days. I had so much morphine in me i was itching like crazy. That 3rd day  I had to walk the hall. Just going to the window was hard but i did it. Then the day of my discharge i walked past the window around the nurses station and back to my room. I was ready to get out of there. 

When i got home with both drains. I had some pain but it got better with pain meds and sipping. Walking to the mailbox the first weekend, then a little further each day.  1 week out i got one drain out.  2 weeks after my surgery i was able to have the drain removed. It kept getting better each day and needed less and less of pain meds. 

Why did it happen?

I had a hiatal hernia and when I went in that day i was going in for a 5 inch insicion.  I woke up in a world of hurt in the Recovery room and found out he did an 8 in*****ision because while in there he found an umbilcal hernia he had to fix as well. 

And I would do it all again if I had to. I am on the winning now on the loser's bench. It feels good to see room in my clothes and such. 

Mine was in August of 2007 and was planned open from the beginning. She wanted to do it ooen partly because of a previous surgery and concern about scar tissue and partly because I carried so much weight in my stomach (and my surgeon was more comfortable doing it ooen in that case).

I was in the hospital for 4 days and three nights, and had a huge incision.  It was closed with internal stitches and the glue, so no staples. I also had no drain, but she put a tube into my remnant stomach for the first 2.5 weeks (which was annoying, but was a great way to use protein shakes that tasted gross to me!)

My surgeins pits her  pateints on soft foods on Day 3 post op (assuming that the one day fi clear liquids and one day fo full liquids went ok), so I had a couple bites of scrambled egg and cream of wheat (ick) before I even left the hospital.

I was off work for 7 weeks (we added a week because of some incision oozing issues).

Lora

My surgeon will only do it open so he can physically measure where the cut needs to be. He had me get some liquid pain killer but I never even opened the bottle. Stayed 2 nights in the hospital, hubby was out of town the Friday I came home, so I focused on just me and plenty of rest. Had pain only for a while by Sunday when he came home he helped me lay down in the bed and from then on was good to get in and out on my own.  Went back to work at two weeks out.