I'm curious. How many bandsters doctors had to opt for the full incision instead of doing the surgery the lap method due to their liver being to heavy or big. The though of that FREAKS me out. I have my surgery in 7 weeks.

If the liver is that large (according to my doc) he would close you up and have you diet. A full incision is a lot of risk just because someone didn't do a pre-op diet.

WASaBubble...Congratz on breaking the plateau!!!!! Way to go!!!

As for converting to open from lap...most docs have those stats for you. If you ask them they should be happy to share

WASaBubble...Congratz on breaking the plateau!!!!! Way to go!!!

As for converting to open from lap...most docs have those stats for you. If you ask them they should be happy to share

Agreed, docs do have this stat or they should. But remember, there are other reasons for converting from lap to open so it is important to be specific and ask why the surgery was changed.

My doc has done over 1300 bands and all were done via laparoscopy. So compare your physician's stats with other docs as well.

MusicalMomma... thanks! It finally happened. I'm shooting for a pound a day for a bit... yeah, we'll see! LOL

My doctor said at 10cm+ you are high risk for having to do it open.. he said my liver was 9.6cm, so told me to diet to shrink my liver. I started immediately (instead of just 2 weeks out) because I did NOT want to be cut open. I had to sign a waiver that if they needed to, they could convert from lap to open during surgery.. not close me up and reschedule. He said he's only had to do it 6 times out of approx. 3,000 (which includes rny and lap-band).

One of the first things I did when I woke up, was ask the nurse or whoever that was (I was still fuzzy) if I was able to do it laproscopically.

Oh, and the 'shrink your liver diet' was not part of my pre-op..it turned into my pre-op which was more restricted, but just to shrink my liver he said.. No Salt, No Sugar, No Fried Foods.

Ok, as I get closer to my surgery date I panic more and more about stuff. Thanks for allaying my fears a little. I guess if I'm a "good girl" and follow the pre-op diet I don't have to worry

Brandy, as I understand it there is very little risk for banding surgeries to be converted to open. The fact is the lap-band is designed to be installed laparscopically, so converting to an open surgery would make no sense. If there were a problem, the surgeon would be much more likely to not install the band at all.

that too is a fear of mine -- I discussed it with my doctor and he really didn't give me a very clear answer as to wether and under what circumstance would he have to resort to an open procedure -- (truth is maybe he did answer initially but I didn't "hear" him) I am meeting with him again tomorrow and will put that question back out there and hopefully clarify a few things... and what option(s) I have if worse case senario. Its a very valid concern and one needs to have a clear understanding of their options before hand.