StacyinDE

Ironically Irgau is the one who told me same as you .... RNY was not a good option for me. I am soooooooo glad I switched practices, the surgical group who did my revision is about an hour away in NJ but the differences in the practices are unbelievable. Love my new surgeon ... he and his partner both said I should have had RNY and they would have never given me a band, especially with me being diabetic for 15+ years. The RNY caused metabolic changes that put my diabetes into remission. That's is just one of the many benefits from RNY. I am glad you found a practice that sounds like it is really great and you got your revision done. Best of luck to you!

Omg they are STILL placing LapBands?!?!! Wow, I am shocked. Finally got mine out 2 yrs ago and left with permanent esophageal damage and scarring and now dental issues because of the LapBand induced reflux....wish I had gone with the bypass in 2006 and not let CHRIAS talk me into the crap-band that was my worst decision ever. Love my RNY.

I'm pretty happy with where I am, I may work at losing another 10-15 pounds, I haven't decided yet so here is a before and a current picture and a before and after close up.

Dr. Schulman, Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, and for all of the information you provided me with! It is greatly appreciated!

Hi Fairy, Yes, even though I still have lots of healing left to do, I'm very pleased. It's strange looking down and seeing my lap rather than my big ole belly that used to be there, that takes some getting used to! I think they do a TT as part of the LBL though I could be mistaken about that. That would be a lot nicer for you, you'd only have to have one procedure done! I would recommend renting a lift chair from Rent-A-Center when you go get it done, that and a raised toilet seat will make your life so much easier! My mom had her arms done and they turned out really nice. I know what you mean about the belly though, I was miserable, that was what got me over the fear of the plastic surgery. Don't psych yourself out over having PS, you'll drive yourself nuts!!!! Just think of it as another stage in your adventure to becoming a more beautiful and healthier you. :biggrin:

That sounds good to me! If I can get off work in time, I'll be there. :thumbdown:

Well, I'm not in New York, but I live close enough to the Amtrak station here in Delaware to make my way up there! :thumbdown: I have I guess more of a contouring question for you. I just had a TT and breast lift on July 31st. Prior to my TT I had much more of an hourglass figure with marked waist indentations than I do now. I am still really swollen in the midriff area right above my incision line but not really on the sides now. Since I've already had the TT is there any way I can go back and get my waist more defined like it was? I would say I have more of the "boxy" shape you mentioned in a previous post. Also, I have had some significant wound healing complications in both my abdominal incision and underneath of the left breast. I'm sure you have come across these situations before. What would you say the chances are that I am now predisposed to wound healing complications for future plastic surgeries? This was my 6th surgery ever (and the biggest) and I never had complications (other than anesthesia-related) with any of the previous surgeries and have always healed very well and bounced back quickly. I know you can't give me an exact answer, but I'm curious as to what you have encountered in these situations. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!

Hiya Fairy, and thanks! :biggrin: Nope, I don't mind sharing at all. I'm pretty much an open book, lol. Unfortunately I had some wound healing complications, which are rare and to have the two that I have at the same time is VERY rare. This was my 6th surgery and I never had any complications, wound healing or otherwise with any of the other ones so we didn't expect any with this one either. As it turns out, I got an infection and my TT incision split open about 8 inches. It had to be left open and packed daily by my Plastic Surgeon till he felt it was stable enough to be resutured, ummmm, can I just say, NOT fun because I was awake for it that time, yikes! I ended up being resutured about 2 weeks after my original surgery so it was like starting all over again. Then, about ten days later, 2-3 inches of it re-split open but thank goodness this time it was superficial and not very deep so I am still doing twice a day dressing changes with neosporin while it heals. It has actually been kinda cool watching it heal, it heals from the inside out. He thinks part of reason this is happening is because I'm still pretty swollen and the swelling can cause the incisions to separate. I was worried about it messing up my incision line but after he resutured me, you could not even tell it wasnt the original incision. He said this small area will heal up fine and shouldn't mess up the scar line. Also, underneath my left breast it looks like I had a blister that ran almost along the entire underneath of my breast and popped. We're not sure if I had a reaction to the tape or possibly the sutures used in that area. The skin never came all of the way off so he had to remove it and clean it up. I have to do twice a day dressing changes with neosporin and saline on that area too. It's healing now, I have skin regrowing, it is a spot a little smaller than the palm of your hand and looks like a third degree burn, very raw. It actually doesn't hurt though, which is a good thing, lol! He also said as bad as it looks this won't scar and I have to say where i can see the new skin regrowing and the wound getting smaller, it is NOT scarring!! Yay!! So, I ended up out of work 5 weeks rather than the 2 that I had planned for and was on bedrest the entire time so as not to strain the abdominal incisions. I've just been back to work for a week now and fortunately, I am healing. Even with the above mess, I'd do it again in a minute. Once this swelling goes down, I will have a flat stomach. It's kinda funny, I look about 4-5months pregnant. I am still swollen in my midriff area, above my incision line but the swelling is gone under my incision line (above pubic area) and below my breasts. I'm still wearing my binder and the swelling can last anywhere from 4-12 months though most people's have resolved around 6 mths or so. I'm anxious to see my final results but even now, it is an amazing difference and I already LOVE the changes to my body even though I'm not done healing and still have a lot of abdominal swelling. And, my port scar is gone, woooooooo hoooooooooo! I was thrilled with that, I never liked that scar, lol. He had to move my port some though when he stitched the abdominal muscles. I probably should have asked for a low profile port but I didn't think of it ahead of time. I think I feel it, hopefully Dr. Irgau won't have a problem finding it when I go in the end of the month. At least he knows it won't be where he left it, lol. Geesh, that was a novel, lol. Sorry, I hope that wasn't too much information. If you guys have any questions, feel free to ask, as you can see, I don't mind sharing and I'm happy to help if I can. Take care!!

Thanks Lynn! Is the meeting a St. Francis meeting or a CHRIAS meeting? I had my surgery at Christiana, would I still be able to attend?

Wow! This thread is really hopping compared to the last time I was on it, lol. I stopped checking because it seemed everyone posted once and then disappeared. It figures, I've been absent from LBT probably since about March and that's when everyone started coming around. I thought I'd check back in and see what's going on. Hello to everyone on the thread now!! Nice to meet ya!! :smile: I need to get my butt back to support group meetings. I slacked off over the summer and its so easy to lose your motivation, especially farther out. I find I do better when I go to support groups regularly. I'm a little frustrated at the moment, I just had plastic surgery on July 31st, and due to some complications that extended my recovery I can't exercise yet. :frown: I'm hoping I'll get clearance to at least start doing my arms and legs when I go back on the 12th. I had to push back my fill with Dr. Irgau because of the complications. I was originally scheduled 9/8 but now I'm scheduled for 9/29. I needed a fill before my PS but man am I glad we waited. The abdominal swelling gave me some really good restriction, too good!!! I'd have been too tight and Dr. Irgau wouldn't have been able to find my port through all the swelling, lol! I was hoping to do the 5K in December for the Special Olympics that they hold in Newark but I'm not sure now if I'm going to be able to start from scratch here and get enough training in for that. That's my immediate exercise goal (well other than to get started lol). I work crazy hours but may join you ladies on some of your walks if you keep them up. It won't be consistent but it would be fantastic to have some company while I exercise! Well, it was great to see you guys here, I hope everyone will keep coming around, I will if you will. :redface: Take care!

Hi welcome! Tell us about yourself! :shades_smile:

I didn't wake up during my band surgery but I woke up with my second C-Section while under general anesthesia. It was when they were getting my son out of me that I woke up, couldn't breathe, move, scream, felt like I was suffocating - no pain, thankfully, but I could feel them tugging and pulling and my body being shaken. It was the most horrible feeling I have ever felt!! That's how I found out my son was in respiratory distress. He couldn't get enough oxygen to cry and I heard the doctors and nurses scrambling to get him help and I started freaking out and my pressure skyrocketed and they knocked me back out. When I came to, they came in to tell me that my son was in the NICU on a ventilator and before they started talking I was asking where he was and was he breathing now. To say they were shocked is an understatement. I told them what happened, and repeated word for the word the doctors and nurses conversations, my son's Apgar scores and what the NICU doc had said. They couldn't apologize enough. Also, my OB is a doc that I used to work for. I canceled previous WLS because I was terrified to do anesthesia again. But, before being banded I talked to Anesthesia at the hosipital I was getting banded in. The anesthesiologist explained to me that that is actually quite common in C-Sections under general because general affects the baby so they can't give the mom too much and many "moms" come awake and have a level of awareness though don't usually feel any pain. She assured me they used the forehead monitors for all surgeries at this hospital, so they would know exactly how far under I was and would make sure I didn't wake up. I didn't, and being banded after the C-Section scare actually was a tremendous help to me. I am no longer terrified of going under again now that I understand what happened. I just wish the other hospital had explained what was going on and that it could happen before I had my section.

I've had 10 fills and 2 unfills so far. None ever done under fluoro and I never had to be stuck more than once. Sorry to hear some of you have had problems with your fills, I hope it gets better for you!

Hi, You can use this link from the Allergan/Inamed (makers of the lap band) web site to locate a surgeon in your area. Inamed, a division of Allergan: Products: Obesity Solutions (US Patients) I'm in Delaware, not far from you if you're in Philly. I went through Christiana Advanced Institure for Surgery and had my surgery at Christiana Hospital, all here in Newark, Delaware. Hope this helps! :eek: