Trace Curry

Hiatal hernias can sometimes develop after banding, and sometimes are there at the time of banding but very small and not really noticed. It would take a tremendous force, like a serious car accident, to cause a hiatal hernia all at once, usually they happen gradually over a period of time. It can be very difficult to diagnose a hiatal hernia once a band has been placed, sometimes it can only be done by doing a laparoscopy and looking in there. Hope that helps! Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

If it's slipped whenever you're properly restricted, it's slipped. You can probably keep it if it stays unfilled, but it won't do you much good I'm afraid. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Chelley, This is pretty common and no big deal if it's fill #2 especially. The VG probably takes about 3cc's to "prime" it and sometimes in the OR it doesn't get done. It doesn't hurt anything, but the first fill then some of the Fluid goes to the priming. I see it all the time and it's not a bad thing unless it keeps happening every time. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

I would get that thing out ASAP it's just going to get worse as time goes by. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

You are probably talking about a duodenal switch. Just google it you'll find lots of stuff out there about it. C

Tough call, it'd take an upper Gi to say for sure. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Dody, It's really hard to say if what you're feeling is normal or not from where I sit. A lot of patients have upper abdominal soreness, especially in the area around the port as it is stitched to the muscle there. It may have more to do with the fact that you had two surgeries back-to-back more than anything. Good luck, Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

The 4cc band is a "high pressure" band meaning that when you access the port if there is any saline in the band it will backfill the syringe. It is 10cm in circumference. The 10cc band is a "low pressure" band which means you have to pull back to get saline out of the port. It is 11cm in circumference and is usually used on patients with thick gastric tissue so as to not end up with a band that is too tight before it is even filled. The weight loss is the same with both. Hope this answers all your questions! Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

This is obviously a complicated scenario - if you have too much steroids on board it will make it hard to lose weight. I think you might be making it too complicated though - it doesn't have as much to do with your Cushing's or not Cushing's but probably mostly due to the fact that you have had only one fill, and a pretty conservative one at that. Until you are properly restricted, which won't be for another 2 fills more than likely, your weight loss won't start rolling along like you want. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

It certainly could be acid reflux, and a fill will just make it worse. If you've lost 62 lbs in just over 3 months you are sailing along pretty good on the weight loss, maybe a fill can wait! Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

It certainly wouldn't hurt anything, but I don't think it helps a lot really. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Here is that article I mentioned earlier about comparing complications of band, bypass, and DS. Sorry it took so long! Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.thebanddoctor.com Complications.PDF

JudyAnn, Don't know how far Cincinnati is for you, but we'd be happy to take care of you and your band! Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

They are all right, you need an unfill ASAP. The band can't really "tear loose" but it can slip from a lot of forceful vomiting. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

Not that I condone cheating :nervous but I agree with Dr. Hekier! Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

It's hard to say, but it certainly could have fixed itself that fast. Try to avoiding getting "overfull" and hopefully it'll stay that way! Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

As long as you are getting in your daily Protein needs, it's not a problem. Although if you were my patient I might take out just a few drops as it sounds like you might be a little too tight even in the evenings. You're right, it is pretty common. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

This is usually from swelling, the band sort of acts as a one-way valve. Air can go down when you swallow it, but has a hard time coming back out. After the swelling subsides it tends to go away. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

In these situations usually either it's a band that was too tight to begin with and a VG should've been used, or your it's a slip. Personally, I would do a scope, but the problem is a gastroenterologist might not have ever seen a slip or even a band at all, so he may not be able to ascertain what's going on. A repeat upper GI might help also, as slips can be intermittent. Whatever it is you need to get it sorted out soon, as I would agree that not being able to eat isn't good for you. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

It's easier to slip a filled band than an unfilled band. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!

I don't think there is any standard protocol for this, I can't really second guess the surgeon who was there at the time. If you are considering gettting rebanded I would agree, it would be a fairly difficult operation. I would seek out a surgeon who has done bands on people who have had a fundoplication before. I personally haven't. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.thebanddoctor.com

It could be a slip or a hiatal hernia, definitely needs to be checked out with Xray and/or scope. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.thebanddoctor.com

Honestly, I have no idea, I've never seen anything like this before. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.thebanddoctor.com

Hard to say, but it sounds like maybe you were overdoing it - you shouldn't be eating "crazy bad" just a couple of days after a fill - take it easy!

I think that it's fine for band patients to have some (note: some, not gallons) of DIET carbonated soda, as long as it's not super-fizzy. The business about pouch stretching from soda I think was made up by some guy back in the dark ages who just wanted to torture weight loss surgery patients. Dr. C Cincinnati, Ohio www.TheBandDoctor.com 877.442.BAND DISCLAIMER: I am not your surgeon, any comments made by me are not meant to be taken as medical advice, just general guidelines. Contact your surgeon about your specific problem!