Question:
How is it determined whether to do Lap or Open. What qualifies for either one. ?

I am doing my phys evaluation and lung evaluation tomorrow. My doctor said it would be an open surgery. I am 58 and he said it was because I would be under for a shorter amount of time. Anyone my age who had a Lap? I do have diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholestral. Does that make a difference?    — Maureen M. (posted on January 21, 2003)

January 20, 2003
I can only speak for myself but according to my surgeon I was not able to have lap because I had previous c-sections from having children. If you are in good health under 300 lbs and no c-sections you would qualify with my surgeon.
   — Julie C.

January 20, 2003
I had lap and a gallbladder removal and I was only out for 1 1/2 hours. It depends on the surgeon and their expertise as how long you are out weather it is open or lap. My mom had lap in Aug at 61 years old and was out for 2 hours he also repaired a hernia once he got in and saw this. Plus with lap you are recovered very well with in 2 weeks. You don't have to worry about hernias or infections in the wounds. This is just my opinion though. Rk
   — Robin B.

January 21, 2003
I would say it mainly depends on the skill and comfort level of your surgeon as to whether he will do open or lap. I am 46 year old had a lap RNY and it took 2 hours. (I had 2 previous c-sections). Also, my surgeon's heaviest lap pt was 525 lbs.
   — koogy

January 21, 2003
As for me, my surgeon said the decision of Lap or not depended on previous abdominal surgeries (scar tissue)and the body mass in the abdominal area. Too much body mass in that area would be hard with the length of the instruments. I was a prime candidate...no previous abdominal surgeries and relatively small abdominal area. However, I then went open to remove a surprise tumor (non-cancerous...thank God).
   — Cindy Y.

January 21, 2003
I had open and my recovery time was very short. I could have had lap but my surgeon preferred doing open and to me it was worth it to do what he was more comfortable with. I would reccommend talking with your Dr. about your concerns and then going from there.
   — Sandy T.

January 21, 2003
Hi there, Maureen! I was supposed to have lap but because of scar tissue and the size of my tummy, doc decided to do open. As far as it being quicker, that would also depend on if the doc runs into complications or not. My open ran over 5 hours because of complications. I'm not trying to scare you, just showing that some of us out there don't follow the norm. Vi open RNY 9/23/02 down 93 lbs.
   — Vi F.