Question:
I have had alot of prevous surgerys.. I know I have alot of adhesions. How will this

affect my surgery?    — Catherine B (posted on August 15, 2002)

August 14, 2002
your surgeon will address this with you more. But, you will most likely require an open procedure rather then lap. Also, you can warn your family that your surgery will take longer then expected. Your surgeon will need to cut through and remove most of those and it takes time. You may also have a little more pain then others, just from all of the tissue being cut through. And lastly, some people with a large amount of adhesions will bleed a little more, so it would not be unheard of that you would need a little blood. Good Luck with your surgery!!
   — Vicki L.

August 14, 2002
Yeah I too have had alot of surgeries... 14 so far and I still have more problems to address! My surgeon wanted me to have an Open as I had a hysterectomy in 1989. I had a LAP gallbladder on March 1st and that was alittle hard to do because of the scaring from the hysterectomy and Open RNY, but it was doable. If you've had any a"bdominal surgeries", more than likely your WLS will be Open.
   — Danmark

August 15, 2002
My sister has had the open gallbladder removal, 3 c-sections, and a Ripstein procedure, and the doctor intends to do lap rny on Oct. 1. Hope this helps.
   — Tina B.

August 15, 2002
I had exporatory surgery in 1990. I had it open and I have a huge, thick scar from my belly button down about 6" or so. I was able to have a Lap RNY with no problem. I had it on April 18, 2002 and I am down 82 pounds.
   — cdiss

August 15, 2002
What exactly does the surgeon have to do with adhesions? I had two surgeries...first one was on a "virgin belly" and it was open. Second one, there were a lot of adhesions so my surgeon had to do it open too. Is surgery with a lot of adhesions riskier? I hope to have a tummy tuck in the future. Would the adhesions from rny affect the tummy tuck? I mean, would it be riskier because of the open rny? I always wondered why everyone was so happy to have their tummy tucks done and I know why since I developed a yeast infection in my "apron". It was so aggravating and itched so much, I would have had a panniculectomy immediately if it could have been done! The tummy tucks/panniculectomy is wonderful as far as cosmetic enhancement but I think as with WLS surgery, it becomes a medical necessity when infections and rashes reoccur. The itching and burning is very uncomfortable and made me miserable with the hot summer humidity and temps in the 90's. I hope next summer I won't have to suffer with this!
   — Marilyn C.

August 15, 2002
My WLS was my 4th intra-abdominal sx. Revision was #5. I should have been a vertiable cobweb of adhesions and there were some, but even so, my WLS & revision (both open) took about 2 hrs, give or take. If I was as much a mess as I "should" have been with that track record, it shoudla taken maybe 4 hours just to "clear the path". Each person is an individual in personality AND guts. Your doc will examine your history and book the time in OR with that in mind. Hopefully, he will discuss with you the + and - of methods with you.
   — vitalady