Question:
Is there a link between the death rate and the open RNY or Lap Rny?

It seems so far that doctors doing the OPen RNY have a lower death rate than Lap, is this true.    — sheila F. (posted on November 20, 2002)

November 20, 2002
I don't beleive there is any truth to that. I had lap a week and 1/2 ago and am doing quite well. I must say my recovery is only 1/4 of the recovery time of those who have had this procedure open. It is my understanding that those who have it done open have a higher chance of having hernias and the recovery time is rough. The surgery is the exact same just done differently. All in all I think the importiant thing is to get the best doctor you can.
   — Colleen S.

November 20, 2002
That seems crazy to me -- where did you get that idea/statistic? It seems to me that with lap surgery there is less cutting, less blood, less chance for infection. Now, of course, I'm sure there are lap surgeons out there who don't know what they're doing....but I'm also sure there are open surgeons who don't know what they're doing. If you've got a source, cite it -- I'd be really interested! Thanks....
   — Tamara K.

November 20, 2002
There are NO surgical procedures without risk of death or complications. The entire issue of which approach is better....lap or open.....rests entirely with the experience and expertise of the surgeon. In the hands of an expert laparascopic surgeon, the risks of excessive blood loss, infection, post-op hernia, and post-op pain are dramatically decreased....and post-op recovery time is much more rapid. Many people quote a 1 in 200 mortality rate for WLS, and that is probably an accurate figure across the board, but it also includes mortality rates from surgeons who are "new" at performing WLS, or have less experience than those board-certified bariatric surgeons who have been performing these surgeries for years. Our surgeon is one of the pioneers in the field of laparascopic WLS, and has performed over 1400 surgeries with only two mortalities which were unrelated to the surgery itself. It is critical for all pre-op patients to do as much research as possible when selecting a surgeon. I would rather have an open surgery any day than to have laparascopic surgery with an inexperienced surgeon. Five of us in our family have now had completely complication-free lap RNY surgeries and post-op courses, and couldn't be happier with our decisions. Best wishes!
   — Diana T.

November 20, 2002
I had open, but I'm not biased. I did open because that's what my surgeon did. I would have taken either. From what I've read lap actually has less of a complication factor (less hernias, less bleeding issues, etc.), but as someone pointed out - make sure you have a surgeon with experience in whichever procedure he/she is going to perform on you!
   — [Deactivated Member]

November 20, 2002
There is no scientific proof either way. Sometimes when I read I get the impression that laps get more nics to colons etc. But truth is that it all depends on who is posting that week. There are so many variables with any surgery, that I agree that you should do what your surgon is most experienced with. I recovered easier and faster that the people who had laps at the same time. But that was just me. Do your research on your doc.
   — faybay