Question:
Plane Travel Post-op?
My surgery(Lap RNY)is scheduled for Dec 4th and we have plans to travel from here (California) to Birmingham, Alabama by plane on the 23rd of December and staying for a week. Is it medically safe for me to fly by plane so soon after surgery? My main concern is blood clots. Should I request blood thinners or stockings? I know I need to walk a lot and drink as much water as I can but what else could I do? Would sugar-free gatorade help rehydrate? — Greer K. (posted on December 1, 2003)
November 30, 2003
You really must ask your surgeon and respect whatever he tells you. Sitting
jammed into a too small seat for a long plane trip so soon after surgery
will add blood clot and dehydration risk. Flying exposes us to ZERO percent
humidity and that dehydrates us fast, while immediately post op we cant
drink much. Perhaps your surgeon could put you on a IV immediately before
traveling and before you return? A connecting flight might be a good idea.
Get up move and walk a lot at the half way point. I hope you are able to
make your flight given the holiday but dont risk your life unnecessarily.
— bob-haller
November 30, 2003
You are scheduled for a Lap RNY--if they have to convert to an open
procdure, I doubt you would be able to fly. You must talk to your
doctor....good luck
— barbara A.
December 1, 2003
I had a open rny on 11/07/03 in Mexico and returned home to OK on 11/11/03.
Had a connecting flight in Phoenix, AZ. Walked as much as possible and
sipped water constantly. Had no problems at all. Hope your trip goes just
as well.
— rojo
December 1, 2003
I had my WLS in LA and flew home to Albany NY 9 days later. All I did was
sip and exercise my feet and legs by moving my feet forward and backward as
much I as could. This is what the Dr told me to do or if you can get up and
walk down the row every hour I did this also, plus we took seats in FIRST
CLASS home so they were so nice and had lots of room. You should be fine as
long as you keep working those legs and feet as much as possible. Good Luck
Tony LAP RNY DISTAL 02/19/03 412/226/200
— tonyskid
December 1, 2003
I flew from CMH to SAN about 5 weeks after my Open RNY. Most of the issues
I experienced were more logistical in nature than anything to do with the
WLS.
Being an Open RNY I was still restricted to the weight I should be lifting.
Traveling alone and attempting to get a garmet bag, notebook bag, and my
CPAP machine was difficult to say the least. I did check my garment bag to
minimize the amount of gear to be carried. I experienced no problems with
security with the CPAP.
My other advice is to bring along as much food and drink as you can carry,
especially if you are still on the liquid diet phase. I ended up carrying
a bottle of water and a bag of cherrio's to snack on while enroute.
You'll find there isn't much RNY freindly food at the airports.
— rleffler
December 1, 2003
Greer- just speak to your surgeon. Some of the responses below freaked me
out a bit, but I did ok myself. I had open RNY and traveled 30 days after.
— LMCLILLY
December 1, 2003
Hi Greer,
I had my surgery in Spain and flew home on the 14th day post-op - 23 hours
in transit! I did fine. There are lots of things you can do to help
yourself, though.
1. Drink a lot of water!
2. Make sure you have a pain reliever (whatever your surgeon recommends)
available.
3. Do pedal exercises.
4. Get up and walk to the back of the plane - to the bulkhead area - and
do gentle stretches, walking in place, that sort of thing.
Let me know if I can answer any questions, okay?
Blessings,
dina
— Dina McBride
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