nosilla

My surgery is also on the 11th! I’m in Atlanta and am getting both excited and nervous. I can’t believe it’s almost time. Best of luck to you.

Hi Kay! I’m in North Atl and getting my sleeve on the 11th. Where in GA are you?

I’m a former bandster as mine was removed in October. Mine was placed in 2006 and was never able to be used (long story). My experience was very out of the ordinary and awful. I do hope everyone here does well! It sounds like you are all doing great so far.

I apologize in advance, i posted this also in the band removal forum, please dont bother to read twice! ----------- Hi all -- I am new to these boards and new to this removal board. I want to share my story and perhaps see if there is anyone out there that can relate to what has been going on with this band. Its an odd feeling to be completely unique in an experience, even among fellow bandsters. After months of research and planning, i was banded on June 6, 2006. Let me first say that the date did not escape me (666) but I figured that if i were to reschedule based on the calendar date, that I did not have much confidence in my surgeon ... so on with the show. Oh, I should mention at this point that I was self-pay...and that I really didnt have 18k just sitting around, but I found it ... because this was for my health. Quick history on me ... I am very short (5'1") and very round. At the time of the band i was in the 290s, and I carry all my weight in one place, my middle. The band was put in and I did very well initally ... I lost weight due to the liquid diet and I was okay with that. Id actually spent many months on a liquid diet in my past so that part was not terribly scary. My first fill was another story. 2 months in and my port was already flipped. My surgeon always uses the UpperGI equipment so it was visibly flipped. He decided at that point that he should go back in and "fix" it. So ... we were back for surgery #2 in September to get the port fixed. Bye to another 5k, but again, its for my health. My "minor" outpatient surgery for the port adjustment was my undoing. I developed post surgical complications and infections that kept me out of work going on 3 weeks. I ran a low-grade fever for weeks, but was told that its really not a fever until its over 102. I was constantly running 99-101 depending on the time of day. A couple courses of antibiotics and that went away. I spent a lot of time at my surgeons office. We were like best friends. So ... funny thing happened about a month after Surgery #2. I was at work (finally) and leaned over my desk to reach something (short, remember) and noticed that my shirt was very wet on my stomach. Odd ... thankfully I was wearing a black cotton top. In the restroom I realize that I had sprung a leak. Yes ... a leak. After much research I realized that what was going on was a seroma ... common with surgery involving a lot of tissue damage. My large surgery incision was constantly leaking a straw yellow "serious" Fluid. It wasnt infected ... it was just weeping. And it kept weeping for weeks, months, etc. Again, still best friends with the surgeons office. We just all thought it would go away. At one point it did close up. Very shortly after .. leaking from a new place (still along the scar of the incision that had been opened twice). So .. life went on as usual ... just with a steady flow of bandages several times a day to contain the weeping. This went on for months. I will point out that a wound cannot heal if the seroma is springing like a leak. The seroma cannot be "cured" it just needs to go away. I did go in for a fill, my first fill after the port correction. After using me as a human pin-cusion my doctor determined that alas, the port had flipped again. It was 100% flipped ... back to square 1. I will give him credit, after essentially saying "gosh, that shouldnt have happened" he did manage to give me a fill. I will spare you the details, just know there is a lot of manevuring you can do with what are essentially 2 knitting needles. I still had an open would where my incision was at this time, but I was smart enought to get antibiotics to keep infection free. After more time, my incision never healed. It just kept weeping. At some point I was refered to a wound care doctor. I went ... once. Was told to pack my wound with this special gauze (again, i will spare the details) but that didnt last very long. One day when I did not follow the schedule ... not that i was very good at packing a 7cm wound, it seemed to close up a bit. Well ... I have been pretty much living with that same open incision, bandages, tape for the last ... gosh, over a year now. I stopped going to my doctor. Partly due to being disgusted partly due to avoidance. I just wanted it to correct itsself. As long as nothing "changed' i knew what was going on. Enter change. I did start packing my wound a bit a couple weeks ago, not fully, but i figured it would perhaps stimulate some tissue growth and maybe my wound would heal. It has not. What I did notice one evening is that I can actually see something in that wound. Its white. I believe it to be 1) the port 2) the tubing ... either way, I should NOT be seeing that for any reason ... and the fact that the port would have moved north like that is fairly scary. So, I am here reading up on band removal. I need to schedule time with a surgeon ... if not the one I already used ... and get this thing out. I am sure you are wondering why I would live with this incision issue for so long. The answer is not that easy to explain. My surgeon looked at this weepy open incision for months before he sent me to a wound care. He didnt seem terribly concerned as it was not infected and figured it would work itself out. When something becomes "normal" its easy to take comfort in the status quo ... no changes...for the better or worse. Better than changes for the worse, right? Anyway ... I am now totally hip to the idea of getting this band removed. I will say that I have NO idea if the band would have worked for me or not ... I dont PB all the time, but thats because I know I cant eat until the afternoon. I come home, drink a glass or 2 of wine... and have dinner. I am unable to excercise due to the incision. But I still love ice cream (sadly). I am now in the 260 lb range, have been for over a year. All of this story to lead me to a couple of basic questions: 1) does anyone know of a doctor in the atlanta area that might be a good choice for consultation on the removal ( i dont want to go back to mine if i can avoid it) 2) how much have people paid for the removal when its self-pay in a hostpital? My old surgeon worked out of the Hosp and not a surgical center. 3) what is the recovery time? One of my big concerns is that I am fairly important at my office for day to day activity and its hard to take time off. I dont have another 3 weeks Any advice, thoughts, questions are welcomed. Thanks for reading. Allison

Wow...I logged back in to this platform as my journey continued and forgot this thread was here. I can’t believe I’ve been in this band nightmare for over 12 years!!! In 2007 I finally got the port removed. My doctor very nonchalantly said “it tested positive for MRSA infection”. I had NO idea the implications. He handed me a card for an Infectious Disease doctor and told me to go across the street to their office. Again, NO idea what was ahead. Suddenly I had a nightmare of a PICC line (took 2 excruciating days to insert) for Vancomycin and a wound vac system. I had both of these for weeks, my home was a virtual hospital. I even took that show to work a few times. Crazy. That was over 10 years ago. In those 10 years I had just the band. I’d never been able to get it removed because it wasn’t presenting obvious negative effects and my insurance wouldn’t cover it. After a decade I finally started the path to revision to a sleeve. I had the band removed on 10/26. It was very complicated. My outpatient procedure turned into 6 days in the hospital. The band had eroded into my stomach (common) but also had RAVAGED my small intestines. The new surgeon said he had never seen anything like it. He had to get the band out of several spots in the intestines and do a lot of repair work. While recovering, about 24 hrs after surgery, things went south. BP low, breathing shallow, heart rate up, fever...ugh. Many tests later and we determined that my chronic Diverticulitis had flared up and was causing the additional pain and infection. It was a very long 6 days, and the fevers kept coming. After being released and on a better coarse of oral antibiotics, things are finally better. It’s been 3 weeks and I am almost not in pain. It was a miracle I didn’t have a blockage, or major infections with that band. I now think my bowel perforations and infections may be related to the band. I had no idea and I guess the band was never visible in the CT scans. Anyway... I wanted to finish my 12 year saga. I’m almost second guessing the sleeve surgery. I feel like I am 4/4 with bad surgery issues...but the reality is that a lot of things (if not all) were caused by that awful band. I may have the surgery, but it will be after the New Year. That bums me out because it will very VERY expensive with out of pocket costs...but realistically I need more time to heal...and I am unable to miss a wedding on Dec 29th. Not sure anyone will read this...but that’s where I am. Xx

My lapband removal yesterday. Ive no port so the tubing was floating freely. It not only eroded into my stomach, the tubing imbedded itself into several places in my small intestines. The surgeon had to do a lot of repair week. My outpatient procedure turned into a weekend long hospital stay! I’m not in a lot of pain, just some tenderness. Waking around a bit, but still on ice chips. Some time today I will get a barium year to see if there are any leaks. The doctor was shocked that I’d not had a ton of fevers and infection from the damage being done by that band. It was a nightmare, but it’s over. I hope my sleeve isn’t impacted by all of this, but tome Will tell. Allison

Hi everyone!!! I just got my sleeve date of Dec 7th!!!! I am so very excited! I get the lap band out this Friday (10/26) also :) The port came out many years ago so it’s just the band piece. Hopefully it is easy breezy. I’ve waited so long for this surgery, both of them, and the reality of it happening soon is starting to click. This year has been dreadful health wise. Plagued with diverticulitis flare-ups, severe sciatic nerve pain, and general malaise with not feeling well. I feel like I’m ending this year on a good note and feel empowered to have a kick-ass 2019! I’ll be Turning 45 this year and I’m going to make it as amazing as possible. xx

I had a terrible lap-band surgeon who legit abandoned me after telling me i had a MRSA infection on my port. He was a nightmare and my anger has not yet subsided (it’s been 11 yrs). All I can say is that on the positive side, as awful as he is...him cutting you loose is a GIFT. You don’t need that toxic attitude in your life. I self-paid for my surgeon to mess me up and then ditch me. Take this opportunity to find a better doctor and to calm the doubt. You’re never going to feel right until you get the endoscopy. Push for it, demand it, settle for nothing less. Until you get that off your mind you will not be ready to move forward fully. I get my sleeve soonish and I’m sending you all the positive thoughts I can. Keep us posted on this thread. You aren’t alone. xx

I am “fortunate” that my port was removed in 2007 after it developed MRSA and that giant incision never healed. This will only be the band. I’ve not had any bad complications that I’m aware of beyond things getting stuck... but it’s been a source of worry for 10 years and completely useless. I self paid for the band in 2006, so I didn’t have Insurance coverage for Bariatric until now. Such a relief.

I’m so glad I found this thread. I already suffer from diverticulitis and will have my sleeve surgery by the end of the year. This will be a major battle for me as constipation is my enemy. I’ve already planned on IV therapy for a while, but I’ll make sure I am diligent with adding miralax into my daily routine when the time comes.

@jendkopp I just got scheduled for the band removal for next week. I’m beyond excited. :)

Hi everyone! I just got approved to get the band out and the sleeve ASAP. I really haven’t spent a lot of time researching what to expect and it just dawned on me to come here! My band was a disaster and never was viable. The port came out after 2 revisions and I had MRSA. 12 yrs later it’s coming out. So excited for that. Did everyone have the revision to sleeve in multiple surgeries? Reading about the intolerance to artificial sweeteners has been interesting ...I’ve been trained since WW in the mid 80’s to have fake sugar. Any major advice for someone who is about to start this journey again? allison

Hey all... I wanted get a gauge of the cost of getting the band removed. I live in the Atlanta area and need to get the band removed due to complications with the port (twice). Just curious about peoples experiences with getting band removed as self-pay. I would really appreciate any surgeon advice or recomendations as well. Thanks! Allison

Hi all -- I am new to these boards and new to this removal board. I want to share my story and perhaps see if there is anyone out there that can relate to what has been going on with this band. Its an odd feeling to be completely unique in an experience, even among fellow bandsters. After months of research and planning, i was banded on June 6, 2006. Let me first say that the date did not escape me (666) but I figured that if i were to reschedule based on the calendar date, that I did not have much confidence in my surgeon ... so on with the show. Oh, I should mention at this point that I was self-pay...and that I really didnt have 18k just sitting around, but I found it ... because this was for my health. Quick history on me ... I am very short (5'1") and very round. At the time of the band i was in the 290s, and I carry all my weight in one place, my middle. The band was put in and I did very well initally ... I lost weight due to the liquid diet and I was okay with that. Id actually spent many months on a liquid diet in my past so that part was not terribly scary. My first fill was another story. 2 months in and my port was already flipped. My surgeon always uses the UpperGI equipment so it was visibly flipped. He decided at that point that he should go back in and "fix" it. So ... we were back for surgery #2 in September to get the port fixed. Bye to another 5k, but again, its for my health. My "minor" outpatient surgery for the port adjustment was my undoing. I developed post surgical complications and infections that kept me out of work going on 3 weeks. I ran a low-grade fever for weeks, but was told that its really not a fever until its over 102. I was constantly running 99-101 depending on the time of day. A couple courses of antibiotics and that went away. I spent a lot of time at my surgeons office. We were like best friends. So ... funny thing happened about a month after Surgery #2. I was at work (finally) and leaned over my desk to reach something (short, remember) and noticed that my shirt was very wet on my stomach. Odd ... thankfully I was wearing a black cotton top. In the restroom I realize that I had sprung a leak. Yes ... a leak. After much research I realized that what was going on was a seroma ... common with surgery involving a lot of tissue damage. My large surgery incision was constantly leaking a straw yellow "serious" Fluid. It wasnt infected ... it was just weeping. And it kept weeping for weeks, months, etc. Again, still best friends with the surgeons office. We just all thought it would go away. At one point it did close up. Very shortly after .. leaking from a new place (still along the scar of the incision that had been opened twice). So .. life went on as usual ... just with a steady flow of bandages several times a day to contain the weeping. This went on for months. I will point out that a wound cannot heal if the seroma is springing like a leak. The seroma cannot be "cured" it just needs to go away. I did go in for a fill, my first fill after the port correction. After using me as a human pin-cusion my doctor determined that alas, the port had flipped again. It was 100% flipped ... back to square 1. I will give him credit, after essentially saying "gosh, that shouldnt have happened" he did manage to give me a fill. I will spare you the details, just know there is a lot of manevuring you can do with what are essentially 2 knitting needles. I still had an open would where my incision was at this time, but I was smart enought to get antibiotics to keep infection free. After more time, my incision never healed. It just kept weeping. At some point I was refered to a wound care doctor. I went ... once. Was told to pack my wound with this special gauze (again, i will spare the details) but that didnt last very long. One day when I did not follow the schedule ... not that i was very good at packing a 7cm wound, it seemed to close up a bit. Well ... I have been pretty much living with that same open incision, bandages, tape for the last ... gosh, over a year now. I stopped going to my doctor. Partly due to being disgusted partly due to avoidance. I just wanted it to correct itsself. As long as nothing "changed' i knew what was going on. Enter change. I did start packing my wound a bit a couple weeks ago, not fully, but i figured it would perhaps stimulate some tissue growth and maybe my wound would heal. It has not. What I did notice one evening is that I can actually see something in that wound. Its white. I believe it to be 1) the port 2) the tubing ... either way, I should NOT be seeing that for any reason ... and the fact that the port would have moved north like that is fairly scary. So, I am here reading up on band removal. I need to schedule time with a surgeon ... if not the one I already used ... and get this thing out. I am sure you are wondering why I would live with this incision issue for so long. The answer is not that easy to explain. My surgeon looked at this weepy open incision for months before he sent me to a wound care. He didnt seem terribly concerned as it was not infected and figured it would work itself out. When something becomes "normal" its easy to take comfort in the status quo ... no changes...for the better or worse. Better than changes for the worse, right? Anyway ... I am now totally hip to the idea of getting this band removed. I will say that I have NO idea if the band would have worked for me or not ... I dont PB all the time, but thats because I know I cant eat until the afternoon. I come home, drink a glass or 2 of wine... and have dinner. I am unable to excercise due to the incision. But I still love ice cream (sadly). I am now in the 260 lb range, have been for over a year. All of this story to lead me to a couple of basic questions: 1) does anyone know of a doctor in the atlanta area that might be a good choice for consultation on the removal ( i dont want to go back to mine if i can avoid it) 2) how much have people paid for the removal when its self-pay in a hostpital? My old surgeon worked out of the Hosp and not a surgical center. 3) what is the recovery time? One of my big concerns is that I am fairly important at my office for day to day activity and its hard to take time off. I dont have another 3 weeks Any advice, thoughts, questions are welcomed. Thanks for reading. Allison

Hi Coco, My issue with the aftercare isnt with the doctor or surgeon, its the cost of the hospital. Just becase the surgeon will do the fills ... and do the port revision surgery as part of the aftercare doesnt impact that the hospital has charges from the or, anesthesia, etc. So, thats where the money comes in. the Surgeons fees are cheap compared to that. allison

hello .... the short answer to why the removal of the band is due to constant and costly port problems. After my inital surgery in 06 everything was great. I had my first fill... the the port had flipped. At that time I had a revision surgery to correct the issue. That was over a year ago. Essentially the wound has never healed due to constant "weeping" or a seroma. That aside, I did go in for a fill after the revision, and the port was 100% flipped again. When researching the band my feelings were that I can try and control some of the negatives, the pbing, sliming, and possibly slipping by following the rules. What I havent been able to control is the fact that that my port and my body do not seem to have reached the same agreement that the rest of me has with the the band My surgeon on Friday of this past week gave me the option of removing, then putting a new port in somewhere else or taking it all out do the RNY. He has not yet entertained the idea of getting it all out. I cant make the decision within the next 2 weeks of having the RNY or any other surgical revision at this point, i just need my body to be back to "normal" with no incision that has been open and not healed for well over a year. I'm sure my surgeon is great for 99% of his patients ... I just think i am that 1% that hasnt had the best luck. allison

Thank you all for reading my story and your thoughts and advice. As a quick followup ... I did go see my current surgeon Friday afternoon. I had taken a xanax prior to my visit ... well ... because the whole thing makes me a bundle of anxiety! I figured I would either get blessed out for having not been back since March ... or in the very least poked and prodded a bit. To my relief none of that really happened. He did say let me know that the port was right by the incision ... which was of course not new news to me as I could see it and feel it! He didnt think it was a big infection, perhaps a small skin irritation given the fact I have a foreign body sitting at the surface of an open wound. Not surprising either. So ... these are the options he gave me: 1) remove *this* port ... let it heal ... and put in a new port in a new location, maybe the left side of my body 2) remove the whole band system and revise to an RNY. He feels the bypass would be more successful for my and perhaps my body type. 3) come back in a month ... we will talk to the insurance company and see if we can get some insurance help on costs. thats it. Well i have spent the last 24 hours obsessing over these options. I am not knocking the RNY, i know its what insurance covers and what a lot of people do ... i have just never felt like its what I was willing to do at this point in my life. I've never been successful with gambling...rolling the dice at a new port doesnt seem all too smart either. I did look at other options.. VSG perhaps ...but no matter what I decide to do long term, for the short term I feel it needs to come out. AtlSpeedy, I appreciate your link that you provided and I will be checking it out! my best, allison

Hey all.. I wanted to get some experiences with Aetna. 2 years ago when I started this journey I had Aetna and proof of all the usual (high bmi, dr supervised diet, etc) but still had to go selfpay as Aetna did not cover my surgery or my policy didnt. I since had to have a port correction surgery which was also self-pay. I've had issues with the port ever since and it has never healed properly. The band will need to come out ... but I am wondering if my situation warrented an emergency removal (infection ... physical reaction to the port itself) if insurance might cover the removal? I had PPO at the time of my first surgery and now have Aetna HMO. I had the surgery at a local hospital with a local obesity surgeon. Thanks! Allison