Open or closed?

Hi everyone. I have 6 weeks of physician assisted dieting left to endure before my surgeon can submit my insurance info to Cigna. I am following every instruction to the "T", so I feel good about the possibility of approval. I hope to get the surgery done before the end of the year. It will be easier for me to get off work in late Dec/early Jan. My surgeon's office said they felt they would be able to work me in, but I may have to use Mr. Hutcher who only does the RNY open, with a 4-5 in*****ission instead of Mr. Bautista who does laproscopic. So, in your opinion if it is more convenient of me, do you see any big reason for not going open? I have had 4 c-sections, so surgery with an incision doesn't scare me. I think the idea of blowing me full of gas with the Lapro is more scary! LOL. SO what do you think, Open or Lapro?

You'll have air in your abdomen either way--I remember from my C-sections. I did find the recovery period to be MUCH shorter with the laparoscopic, vs the sections. Don't know if that is a fair comparison, though. The general rule is, the less invasive the procedure, the better off you are. In some cases open is required, then there is no choice, but given a choice I would opt for lap rather than time schedule. Just my opinion. Lois

Kim- I had open and did fine. The scar isn't that bad. I didn't have any gas problems...except it took me awhile to pass it! The way I made my decisions was to go with the surgery my surgeon was most comfortable with. It's their experience that mattered to me...not the scar or the gas. I say go with the one that the Dr. you end up with is most familiar with.... JMO though! Christina S

Hi Kim, I am a registered nurse, and have also had the surgery, so I will tell you how I chose to have my surgery. Instead of deciding Lap vs Open, to me, it was more important to chose a surgeon I would trust. I did my homework...had references...I am very picky who I allow to take care of me. I am so glad I did that. My doc is the best! He only does open...so that decision was made for me...after I found the doc I trusted. Hope this helps! Stephanie

I agree as well Stephanie .. the matter of recovery is to be considered .. But some are up and at em really quickly .. and some .. take more time .. as for me .. I will never regret my open .. and my doctor .. as you can see I am a Hutcher groupie and we all love our surgeons .. and why not .. they saved our lives to some point right ? I can tell you this .. you are the consumer and it is your decision to choose what works for you .. Best wishes to you on your journey . Nat

If I'd had a choice (my doc only did OPEN on patients with a BMI of 60 or higher) I would have LOVED to have gone LAPRO!!! The recovery time between lapro and open is like night and day. I had my gall bladder removed Lapro and was back at my company, working 60 hour weeks within ten days of the surgery. I had my RNY done open and it took about 3 weeks to feel semi-human and the entire six weeks to truly feel a 100% minus any discomfort. Don't get me wrong, I did not hurt the entire 6 weeks, I just remember the "finding the old Lei" took so much longer to surface. lol, yep, it's much more INVASIVE! Good luck to you - whichever route you end up with. btw - the gasses they pump you with in lap surgery is a MINOR inconvience, which can easily be passed on (pun?) with lots of walking. The upside? You SHOULD be up walking as much as possible after your surgery, so this would be one more insentive to do so.

Hi Kim, I had open RNY because that was what my surgeon prefered to do and I had no real recovery problems - and I don't remember having any gas either.... I think you should choose your surgeon and then just let him do whatever procedure he feels most comfortable doing. That was what I did and have no regrets... Jackie

Kim, I had the surgery 4-25-06 with Dr. Hutcher. I chose the surgeon and let him chose the procedure. Dr. H is awesome and really knows his stuff. He is great with the after care, too. I would not have had anyone else. I was up and around very quickly and felt normal within a week or so. I have met and spoken with Dr. Bautista sevearl times and I like him a lot. I went with the following as part of my decision in chosing a surgeon: Dr. Hutcher had already preformed this surgery THREE times on other family members with no complications (and including me the number is FIVE surgeries now), he has been doing this longer than any other surgeons in Richmond and ONLY does open and I figured that this is for a reason and I trusted him. Bottom line is that YOU have to be comfortable with the surgeon you chose and he or she has to be comfortable with the procedure they are doing. I wish you the best of luck and will be praying for you approval. If I can answer any questions for you about the procedure or the surgeons just shoot me an e mail. {{hugs}} Tammy -211 lbs 17 months post op below surgeons goal and revising my own personal goal for the third time!

Thanks everyone for your input. I have read the bio info on the surgeons and attended sessions where they spoke, but have not yet had a chance to talk to any of them face to face. The first appt was with the PA. I still have at least a month and a half to find out all I can about the surgeons and the open vs lapro procedure. I devour these boards everyday, getting as much info as I can from your experiences. Thanks to all of you that are so willing to share! Kim

The structure inside of you should end up being the same no matter whether you are open or lap. I had lap. Hubby had open. We both did well and bounced back quickly. Hubby had to wear a binder for a few weeks and I didn't. And I was allowed to exercise sooner than he was. But otherwise, no difference. I chose lap (could have chosen open) because I wanted the less externally invasive surgery with the less chance of hernias. And no hernias for hubby or I. Both surgeons, Dr. Hutcher and Dr. Bautista, are fine surgeons. You'll be in great hands either way. We have many patients on the boards here from each of them. Good luck, Kathy