misschris

My band slipped. I had to have emergency surgery after having it a year and a half. We do not know what caused it to slip. My surgeon said my body simply rejected it. Unfortunately, the sleeve was not offered by my surgeon at the time of my surgery in 2009. A year after removal, I had re-gained 30 of the 80 pounds that I lost. My surgeon recommended me for the sleeve, but insurance rejected me. I finally just got approved after 6 months through a 2nd level appeal. My sleeve surgery is July 17th!

I hope that surgery went well. I am also one that was disappointed in the band. I will be getting sleeved July 17th. I will be following your journey... I'm pulling for you!

This is to all those people out there who need revision. KEEP PUSHING YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY! I had a band and had it slip. I had to have emergency surgery to get it removed. After a year, a re-gained 30 of the 80 pounds I lost. My surgeon recommended me for revision surgery to a sleeve, but my insurance denied me. The insurance was trying to treat me as if I was brand new to bariatric surgery. They said that I did not weigh enough! Clearly, I was on my way to total re-gain. It was a gradual, upward trend. I appealed and was denied again. I was about to give up and saw that there was a 2nd level appeal process that went through an outside panel, independent of the insurance company. I sent a detailed, tabbed binder with my medical records prior to the band and after the band with a 2 page cover letter describing my journey and the anguish that comes with failed weight loss surgery. Much to my surprise, they granted approval. This process took about 6 months, but was totally worth it!

July 17th just outside Cleveland, Ohio...

I had a band and lost 80 pounds with it. I had to have emergency surgery to get it removed because of a slip in December 2010. I put on about 30 pounds by the following November and could not get approved through my insurance. The excuse insurance gave for the denial was that I did not weigh enough; they were treating me as if I was new to bariatric surgery. After a 2nd level appeal, I was granted approval finally in May 2012. I look forward to my sleeve on July 17th!

I am glad that you asked about this topic. I was a former band patient who suffered a slip. In my year and a half that I had the band, I never got off Nexium and had to sleep sitting up at times and burped a lot. After the band, I went back to normal - no reflux at all. I'm hoping that the sleeve is a good option for me... My surgeon thinks it is.

My surgery date is July 17th as well! Good luck! I'm just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. I am a former band patient that had emergency surgery for removal about a year and a half ago.