Ginib

Hi everyone! I am Gini. I have been banded since Oct 2002. I lost 60+ lbs and then we decided to go to Paris a year ago ... so I got a slight unfill. Had a wonderful time, but waited too long after vacation to get a fill. I gained about 20 - 25 back so I went for a fill on Monday. Dr. Spivak is the greatest, but he was a bit "brutal" on this fill as he "shoved" the Fluid back into my band. I have had plenty of fills in the past, but this one actually hurt! Anyway, this fill seems to be HUGE!!! Dr. Spivak but in 2.7 and the barium went down fine. Water goes down, but slowly. I have not tried solids yet, but I have had cream of tomato Soup and it came back up. I am also getting hiccups after soup, milk, pudding, etc. I have never had this experience after a fill. I am not sure if I should wait a bit to see if it loosens up or if I should go back and have 0.1 or so removed. Again, water goes slow, but it stays down. Any thoughts or experiences along these lines? Thanks, Gin

Hi all. I was banded in Oct 2002 by Dr Spivak in Houston. I have had a breast reduction, lipo, panniculectomy/tummy tuck and implants. Unfortunately, I had some issues with a herniated disc and was placed on a course of steroids and the last time seemed to balloon me up about 20 lbs (seems like it all went in the area between my breasts and lower stomach). I am very happy with the results of my plastics ... except it seems that my skin has lost ALL elasticity and my breasts seem to need work again. Anyway, I love my plastic surgeon ... but he has indicated that the inner thigh lift procedure (they put the incision in the leg crease) is not worth the possible gain. He has indicated that the problem is the skin starts to pull downwards since there is no real way to "pin" or "tack" the skin up. He says the scar starts to drift down in many cases. Has anyone had good luck with the inner thigh lift? Thanks, Gini

Dr. LoMonaco: I was wondering if you had a similar response to the thigh lift. Thanks, Gini

Hi ... just wanted to tell you guys that Dr. Long did my wifes tt, lipo and ba on Fri. She is in some pain (it looks like a lot, but she says 'some'). It seems that her main issue is exactly what we have heard before ... it feels like you have done ten thounsand sit-ups ... muscles very tight and hard to move. He also did some lipo to try to get rid of her "side boobs", around her under arsms, hips and thighs. When I saw him after the surgery he said that everything went great and he was very happy with the sculpting job they were able to attain. They remloved more than 7 lbs from her stomach and another 2 litters of fat from lipo. He used the silicon breast implants as they are more natural. We have not seen the results without the binder, but I was able to tell her "you have no tummy" ... not sure if that is any consulation at this point in the game, but it will be. We have heard from others on the boards that Dr. Long is who Spivak suggests. So the last time she went for a fill she asked them (of course this was after she had already had the br and lipo). Brenda said "It is not that we recommend him, it is just that we know his work and tell others about it." Not sure if that is "recommending him" ... but if Dr. Spivak is willing to say anything positive about another doc, I think that carries a lot of weight as we have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Spivak. Anyway ... my wife had a br and MAJOR lipo from Dr. Long (2 different surgeries) and we both really like him. It appears that he has done another GREAT job with her tt. Also, we really like Dr. Long's nurse Gail ... she is a hoot in person. Good luck:clap2:

Hey Candice ... have you decided on a doctor? Gale at Dr. Long's office is working with the insurance company right now for Gini's tt. We are hoping for a March 9 surgery as our kids will be on spring break that following week. Hope things are moving along for you!

I can relate to what you said about him telling you things no other doc did. We saw 2 others and Dr. Long was the most conservative in his suregery, but what he said made sense ... do too much and there is a high risk factor. The others wanted to do a tt, bl/ba, thighs and lipo all at once. I have heard it done with great sucsess, but just not what we were looking for. Her breasts were great until she lost more weight. She was so excited to wear a top with no bra for the first time in her life!!! Her volume decreased as she lost another 30+ lbs and he said he would lift her again and put in a small implant to bring the fullness back. I told him we did not want a Pam Anderson look ... he was great in saying "If we did that, she would look too heavy and she has worked too hard to loose the weight just to make her look big again." Again, just the right thing to say. My wife is hoping for a March 9 date for tt and bl/ba with some minor lipo of the flank areas. When he redoes her breasts, he is going to continue a little farther up towards the arm pit and remove that "side fat". That fat is what really is bugging my wife. We are in Sugar Land so it is not too bad of a drive to get to Park Plaza. It is well worth the trip to see Dr. Long, and let's not forget Dr. Spivak.

My wife used Dr. Long for breast reduction and lipo. She has just started the process for her tummy tuck and breast augmentation with him. We saw 2 other PS and felt most comfortable with Dr. Long. Her reduction was about 15 months ago and the lipo was about 7 months ago. He told her that, if the insurance company was to pay for the reduction, she should have it done before she lost too much breast tissue that they would not pay. We absolutely loved the job he did on her breasts. But, she has lost more weight and feels they need to be lifted a bit. He said he could do that, but may need an bit of a "filling" to get the fullness she is looking for. So, looks like implants. The lipo was the greatest thing she has done. Her clothes fit so MUCH better. But, she still has the tummy skin/apron and wants that gone. Hopefully the insurance company will pay ... she has documented rashs with pictures and letters from 3 docs. Dr. Long has spent a huge amount of time answering our questions and helping us both feel comfortable in the process.

The Clinical Policy Bulletin is 0157 and states: Aetna considers open or laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) or laparoscopic adjustable silicone gastric banding (LASGB or Lap-Band) medically necessary when the selection criteria listed below are met. There used to be something there for the band stating it will be covered only you were at an increased risk of adverse consequences of a RYGB. However, the new policy does not make that distinction for the band, only for vertical banded gastroplasty. Also, there is now a CBT code for fills: S2083 There is further explaination that shows long term loss of 30-50% for bands and 50% for RYGB.

Sorry ... I guess I was not very clear. I had several fills between 10/2002 to our vaction to Paris in 10/2004. At that time I had some removed so I could enjoy the wonderful foods in Paris. I actually had a fill about 6-8 months ago and really found it did not do much. So, it was 2 days ago that I went and was bumped from 2.2 to 2.7. He first tried 3.0 and the barium would not go down. Gin