Why you had lap vs. open - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

Dyann · 10-03-2005, 10:24 AM

After looking at all the different profiles and weight loss patterns I can't tell why some had a lap vs. some having open.

Some higher BMI's were lap and lowers were open and the other way around ....

What were the reasons you had the technique that you had??

ScootRider · 10-03-2005, 10:35 AM

My Surgeon prefers to do Laporoscopic if possible. He will evaluate you and based on your size and previous surgeries, etc...will decide. He will tell you that he may have to convert to open during the procedure but it is much better for the patient if that can be avoided. Laps tend to have quicker recuperating times than open.

CiCi · 10-03-2005, 10:53 AM

Yup... ditto to what Mike said! And I had my surgery here in Oklahoma, so I think this is pretty much the same everywhere!

bridgetgirl · 10-03-2005, 11:00 AM

Depends on body type, surgeon preference and what you want.
I went lap so I could recover quicker. Many folks prefer a more hands on approach, ot have the surgeons hands vs a tool touching their organs. Many different reasons why n stuff.

gramamarc · 10-03-2005, 11:29 AM

If you carry most of your weight in your stomach higer up it is harder to do lap. For that reason they might decide to go open. sometimes they start lap and them have to convert to open. It all depends on the situation.
M

lealphachienne · 10-03-2005, 11:55 AM

The laproscopic instruments aren't that long. So it depends on how you carry the weight whether you go lap or open.

Jtcox88 · 10-03-2005, 01:07 PM

My surgeon's preference is lap. He only has to convert a few to open due to unforseen hernias. He states that you are a candidate for lap if you are less than 550 lbs or 80+ BMI.

So I guess it is just really what your surgeon prefers. Good Luck!

VanessaSFL · 10-03-2005, 05:00 PM

Dr. specialized in Lap.....didn't even think to ask why not open...I know he won't do surgery if your a really high BMI...he'll send you to Miami for SMO.

Now ,when I had my GI bleed.....he said he may have to open me up if he could not locate the bleed and seal off laproscopically.

Van

Dara · 10-03-2005, 06:05 PM

My surgeon, Dr. Callery, will perform a lap if your body style permits it. Like Nancy said, it depends on where you carry most of your excess weight.

I actually chose open because I preferred to have Dr. Callery look around while he was in there. With open, he actually examines the organs and looks behind and underneath them for any abnormality, i.e., tumor, odd appearance, coloration, etc. He said he has actually found ovarian tumors and other abnormalities during surgery. I wanted to make sure everything was okay.

After I chose open, I found that I needed to have my gall bladder removed anyway. So, it worked out just fine for me.

I'm not so sure that lap patients recover more quickly than open. During his orientation seminar, Dr. Callery said they're about the same.

LizardQueen · 10-03-2005, 07:36 PM

My surgeon only does the open procedure because he wants to be able to check things out while he is in there. In my case, thank God he did. I had a tumor on my small intestine that had to be removed. It would have caused an obstruction down the road according to him and I would've had to have emergency surgery. I'm sure it is easier to recover from the lap, but because of my situation I would prefer open if I had to do it again.