La_madam

Wow that was quick..I just got email comfirmation that Don Mills has read my email all ready From: "Don Mills" <don.mills@inamed.com> To: "Michelle Houston" <angel.atheart@cox.net> Subject: Read: Erosion % of a Certain Doctor Date: Monday, November 29, 2004 3:27 PM Your message To: Don Mills Subject: Erosion % of a Certain Doctor Sent: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 15:26:10 -0800 was read on Mon, 29 Nov 2004 15:27:07 -0800 I am sure I wil lbe geting a reply

I just emailed Don Mills from Inamed myself with questions in regards to this whole Lopez erosion/aftercare thing. If I get a reply you can bet I will post it in its entireity including the date! and For the record I did mention my esophagitis, even though my band is fine..I wanted them to be aware of my personal situation. Documentation does help to provide a better product and service no matter who you are or who your surgeon was..These incidences being reported just helps in the long run. Even Dr. Ortiz made a physical note of this today, for future reference and for future patients.

That is strange..and I agree I never remeber the respones to this very question For me I have had 2 fills, my first one was 1.1 cc's in June 2004 My 2nd fill was August of .9 cc's..he pulled out 1.1 and then added .9 I have heard that people say it evaporates..I have heard people having a leak in their tubing..I have also heard that when a Dr. pulls out the needle some can leak... .4 cc's is not alot so possibly that is the case with you? My first fill when the needle was pulled out I did have a wet spot where it dripped down on my tummy from saline..it's possible

Good Job Penni..I think we all should this is getting way out of control..every week we are reading about others who have erosion from Lopez..something is not right. Inamed is not on these boards like we all are..who better to report to them then us..if no one tells then anything then they thing these Dr.'s are in good standings when the fact remains they are not! I know lisa has contacted them several times..I'm glad you emailed them Penni..

Margaret she is not doubting the letter is real or valid..she is questioning the date of the letter..if it was 6-8 months ago it means nothing since all of the erosions and problems are popping up all over in the last month...what good is the letter written months ago if these problems are happening now and the letter does no good if these patients are not reporting their erosions to Inamed..If Inamed is unawre of these erosions then of course they are still going to think he is a wonderful Dr..this is why any of you who have had problems with your band with whatever Dr.. you need to contact Inamed.. Don.mills@inamed.com let him know of your situation..

I have only PBed 2 times in 7 months and have lost 70 lbs so that statement of PBin alot and losing is not true. Have you had your band checked recently? I was just diagnosed with esophagitis today becasue I had tightness of my esophagus like you explained, I had spasms for a week and still do but not as severe..I have onbly had my band tightened 2 times since surgery and never loosened.I have learend to eat slow and tiny bites so I do not feel that uncomfortable feeling..every once in a while a big bite slips through like last week which led to my esophagitis..I will never do that again! I'm sorry you are struggling, one thing that helps me when Iam struggling is this board and all of the people on it. Support has been key for me! Maybe try posting more often, not just when you are desperate..we are all here for thesame reason..lots of love & support here on this board..Give it a try

my weight loss this week was NOT a fun experience trust me! But thank you TheresaMarie

Maybe she meant pouch..LOL..food can not get clogged in your port..IMPOSSIBLE And we need to get our facts straight?? WOW!

If he suspects erosion under fluoro it is becasue the barium is flowing over the band and not through it..I asked hi mthe same question..my barium flowed through the band, when it flows over the band it is most likely the band has eroded into the wall of your stomach..the endoscopy is for 100% accuracy, if he suspect erosion from the baruim flowing over the band he will schedule and Endo. If you call Martinez he will take the timne to explain it all to you..just like Rita who posted on erodedbandsters, Kuri told her he suspected erosion since the barium was flowing over the band instead of through the band..the other reason Ortiz told me many docs in the US do not use flouro for their fills so that is also why they schedule an Endo to determine erosion for sure. He also told me many cases of erosion are reported after a year to 2 years out..on rare occassions he has seen it happen 6 months post op..$ many cases of erosion are from techniques used when placing the band during the original surgery. I know Ortiz & Lopez were partners at one time and I asked his receptionist why they were no longer together..he answer wassimple.. Ortiz's reputation was being tarnished and he would not allow that to happen any longer. She also told me they get calls all the time from patients thinking they are calling Lopez's clinic since there names of the clinics are almost the same. Lopez = Obesity Control Clinic Ortiz= Obesity Control Center.

It was exactly what he told me it was on the phone on Saturday & Sunday but I need to see it for myself for peace of mind so it was worth the drive to TJ. I got in and out of there in not time. I was on the road back home at 11:00 and made it home at 12:30 Thanks Penni for your prayer..it worked

I just went to see my Dr. and I asked him about this..he told me there is no such thing..it is either Esophagitis which is inflamtion or irritation/swelling of the esophagus or Erosion of the band, 2 entirelty different things..I have Esophagitis, I just found out today but not from being filled too tight, it was from a Almost PB episode that I did not treat as a PB which iswhy I contiuned to irritate and inflame my esophagus. It can also happen from being filled to tight ..Iam on a medication to regulate my esophagus, Dr Ortiz told me the Prevacid or Nexium will not heal this alone...

Monday 11/29 194.50 -3 lbsfor me this week for a total of 70.50

Hi Rita.. I was the one who told you about this site..I was also the one who emailed you personally when I heard your story on eroded bandsters..I hope you dont mind that I posted your post here so everyone was aware of it..When you say "doubled your fill" what do you mean exactly? and what problems were you having since that time? What made you switch to Kuri ? Thank you for sharing your story here with us as painful as it must be for you but everyone needs to be aware of this continuous problem with Lopez..I wish you all the best...

Yes it is Alex..I just got off the phone with Dr Martinez ( Ortiz's assistant) Believei t or not he ansewered his cell hpone on a Sunday evening at 5:30 I asked him about this, he told me the only way it can happen is if it is a defective band other then that it is virtually impossible to happen.So that has relieved my mind a bit.. I'm meeting Dr. Ortiz at his office tomorrow at 9:00 am to find out what is wrong with mine..Thanks to all of you and your well wishes..I will let you all know what happens...

Margaret PLEASE before you come here and defend Dr. Lopez think of all of these women that have had problems..they are very sad and upset, there are many of them and the last thing they want to hear is you defending Lopez..put yourself in their shoes for just one minute..there is something obviously wrong here if all of these women have had erosion or port infections ..this is why we allget so angry with you..These are real life women who have paid lots of money for their bands and now all of them are going to lose them..This is not a coincidence here anymore Margaret...these are not rumors. For you to come here and imply that it is all rumors and heresay is an insult to all of these women who Im sure right now are truly heartbroken about losing their bands...have some comapssion Margaret..so far you are one of the lucky ones but these other women arent!

Here is another Lopez erosion...thiswoman posted this on this site Due to erosion having my band removed Dec. 7th -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you all for responding to my original thread. I have my date for having my band removed. I am going on Dec. 7th. I am a little nervous because it is the first one that this doctor has had to remove. I am so worried about how I am going to be successful with my weight loss after it is gone. I am especially angry to see that there have been at least 7 people who have had to have theirs removed that had their original surgery done by Dr. Lopez. I have contacted Inamed, and they asked a lot of questions, and they want me to send them my and after it has been removed. I also notified Dr. Lopez's office, and I got back one email saying that it needed to be confirmed by an endo, I emailed them back and told them I had one done, and it was definitely eroded. Not that anything can be done about it, since he is a Mexico doctor. My doctor here said it ma well have been the way the band was placed. However somone mentioned that Dr. Lopez has trained others and they are not having any problems. So what if it is a problem with the band itself. Will Inamed do anything about it???? I imagine if I send them my band they'll look it over and say there was no problem with it. The guy on the phone that called me from Inamed, said the ones that they have seen that have been sent in after removal, have only shown signs of the destruction of being removed,and some discoloration due to stomach acids. I think what it all boils to is that I am out of luck. I paid all that money to not get to my weight goal. I will have to go back to trying it on my own. Obviously I was soooo successful at that the first time around. Well wish me luck. Keep me in your prayers. thanks, chrissy catfanlover View Public Profile Send a private message to catfanlover Send email to catfanlover Find all posts by catfanlover Add catfanlover to Your Buddy List #2 Today, 02:51 PM

Just thought I would share this post from erodedbandsterswith all of you..I just got it in my email this afternoon..Im sure all of you will find it interesting as I did Message: 1 Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 15:10:04 -0000 From: "lizzie4524" <reets4524@msn.com> Subject: erosion I was banded on May 14, 2003 by Dr. Lopez. Just went down for a fill from Dr. Kuri yesterday and he said he thinks my band has eroded. He suggested an endoscopy and possibly have my band removed. What did you guys pay to have your band removed? I'm panicking at this point and wonder how soon I should have this done. Is this an urgent thing? Any help would be greatly appreciated before I go crazy with fear. Thanks.--Rita Another Lopez erosion..imagine that! Do you think this woman is lying?

Yes please tell us how you found out? is there pain? Im going to my dr tomorrow becasue I think something is wrong with my band, did it feel like it was broken inside? I feel like something is broken in mine because what Iam experiencing is not reflux or being filled to tgiht, I can eat and drink but I have the strangest pain, it is almost like contractions. Please tell me your experience that led up to you finding this out.

Contempt is an understatement... Lisa & Penni must of been sick the day you posted your survey or questionaire here on the boards in June..because I highly doubt if the'dy seen a post asking about Lopez they would of missied it (both of them). Maybe I will check the archives and look for that post Esophagitis is inflammation, irritation, and swelling of the esophagus, the tube that leads from the back of the mouth to the stomach. Erosion is when the band erodes into the wall of your stomach, the stomach tissue actually grows around the band and the band ends up on the inside of your stomach rather than on the outside where it is originally placed. And she asks us to be accurate with our facts?? LOL

Chrissy..I am so sorry to hear this. I could only imagine how you are coping. I'm having some issues with my band and am going to TJ tomorrow to find out whats wrong and I am scared that something is wrong with my band and if I lose my band I dont know what I would do. As far as your Dr. telling you it is how the band was placed in the original surgery. I asked my doctor the same question just 2 weeks ago about Lopez and all of his erosions and he told me the exact same thing..funny thing is my Dr and Lopez used to be partenrs but my Dr. has not had many erosions, it is very interesting. I wish you the best..you will be in my thoughts..please keep coming here for support band or not we all have the same goal. Let us know how is goes..

Today Im doing bad..Im going down to Mexico tomorrow.I cant live with this. I do not beleive it is from my filled being too tight. It feels like something is broken. It is not reflux or heartburn.The prevacid has not worked I have taken it twice. I have been doing the Maloxx and yesterday it worked great but today nothing. I'm in pain and uncomfortable. I will let you all know what happens. I'm miserable and a little scared. Keep your fingers crossed

Hi Welcome..Like Betty said..every Dr. is different. My Dr. required no pre -op diet. He only does if your BMI is over 50 but mine wasn't. I would follow your Dr.'s instructions, he has them it for a reason....Good Luck tomorrow

Thanks Betty..I'm feeling a lot better..today was the worst so I finally called my Dr. and imagine he answered his cell phone on a Saturday and took time to speak with me...its amazing what Maloxx and the prevacid has done..What I was feeling I did not think an antacid would cure or help so that is why I never tried it until today but it seems to be..guess I was wrong....Liquids suck though! Thanks again Betty for thinking of me..you are a sweetheart!

Sultana I had my last fill in August also and have been doing great with it, but this past week something strange has been happening. On Monday night I ate bread and a piece got stuck..I almost PBed, I had the watery mouth and the slime but the bite passed through and ever since then I have been having this weird pain/ sensation whenever I eat or drink..I did not think to do liquids for 24hrs ( like my Dr. reccomends after a PB)since I did not actually PB so through the course of the week I continued to eat but very little since everytime I did it was so uncomfortable. Today was the. worst..so I called my Dr. we spoke a length about what was going on. He reccomended I start prevacid and do liquids for 3 days he believes I irritated my esophogus and for me to also take maloxx and I can honestly say just with that one swig of maloxx coating my esophogus I feel better. I am on liquids for 3 days and if I still havethese symptoms Iwil lgo in for a slight unfil..He does not believe I am filled to tight since just 2 weeks ago I went in for my check up andhe did the barium swallow test and saw that my band was in place my esophogus looked great , my port was in palce and no dialation of my pouch and my restriction level was good, if anything not tight enough but since I told him I was still losing every week and I felt good with my level of restriction he left it be and did not fill me but he also told me on the phone today that even though my fill was in August he has seen it in some cases where your fill can get tighter overtime..So for now I'm on the liquids, prevacid and Maloxx and going to see how it is in 3 days but I can all ready say I feel better..maybe try some Maloxx see if it helps you. I did not think it would help me since I have no heartburn or reflux but he thinks it is my esophogus that is irritated ..we will see. I hope you are feeling better since you posted this..

The ones who have had to endure these problems are good people I'm sure. Sometimes in the stress of living through it, venting is a healthy part of the recovery process. I want to encourage those who are venting to keep commentary honest and accurate Margaret I can not believe you would say something like you did in the above quote..those who are venting about Lopez are real live patients from Lopez who are being honest and accurate. They have nothing to gain by lying here..why would anyone lie about a horrible medical experience. They have nothing to gain by doing so..all the are trying to do is make others aware just like you are doing by stating what a wonderful Dr. he is.. Whatever expereince a patient has good bad or other is the right of the patient to post it or to warn others about...It is offensive to me that you think these people are not being honest..For the record..I have met 3 of these women personally who all have had problems with Lopez 2 with port problems and one with erosion..I saw and heard of their problems first hand from their own mouths and saw Lisa's open wound which I might add still has not healed 6 months later. How dare you come here and insinuate these women are not being accurate...I find it very offensive.. Again , Good for you that you have had such a wonderful experience with Lopez I'm so happy for you but please do not come here and make light of the fact that so many others have not..some are still suffering today. If Lopez is so concerend about changing the ways of his practice and aftercare..then tell him to call those he knows are upset and those he knows were having problems that he promised to call back and NEVER did!!! , that would be a great place to start dont you think..as long as these people are unhappy with their aftercare and as long as these poeple come forward and speak of their erosions and port infections...his reputation will never be salvaged until he does something about it himself personally to all of those he has sqrewed!