Question:
Are hernias more common Post-Op for people who had OPEN RNY rather than LAP RNY?

In the posts that I've read about people getting hernias post-op, it seems like a common occurance. Does anyone know the likeliness of a hernia happening in LAP RNY as opposed to an OPEN RNY? Thanks!    — sunneegirl (posted on May 23, 2003)

May 23, 2003
I am certainly no doctor, but I did happen to be at my surgeon's office this morning asking the same question. He said 20% with open, 2% with lap. I have read a lot of journals on here and I don't know how accurate that is, but that's what the M.D. said. Don't shoot the messenger. :)
   — ladyphy

May 23, 2003
My surgeon says 30% OPEN near zero LAP. Its very rare for someone to report here a incisional hernia aFTER lap surgery.
   — Sam J.

May 23, 2003
ABSOLUTELY! Near 35% with open... extremely rare with lap. In all the surgeons I deal with they have never had even one incidence in thousands of procedures as the group does lap. It is tough for your intestines to protrude or muscle wall to pull apart at a weak point when your incision is only 1/2 inch long. A longer, several inch incision creates a weak spot for those intestines to splooge through. ciao, Suze
   — SusanMaria

May 24, 2003
I must be one of the *lucky* ones. I had a Lap RNY and DID somehow manage to get a hernia. So, it DOES happen, but I understand that it is pretty rare compared to open.
   — Maria H.