mmejia

I have talked to other people who have had knee surgery and a girl who had plastic surgery who only had a mask put on them for surgery. Why do we have to be intubated? I am an opera singer and I have always been told to be VERY careful about this. Is there another alternative to intubation for the lapband or gastric sleeve?

What was your experience? Would you reccomend?

Is pregnancy ok or possible with the sleeve?

Hello Everyone, I would appreciate any suggestions or answers you can give me. The truth is I am a singer in China. I am on 6 month contracts and am coming home for 7 weeks in December before I start my next contract. I have decided to get the lap band done while I am home. I was comortable with everything about the surgery until I started reading about the "SOFT SPOT" part of the fill process. I will only have one time to fill before I leave back to China and even that is an exception because it will only be four weeks post op. I want to do whatever it takes to be successful but I am a little discouraged thinking that you really are not restricted until the 2nd or sometimes 3rd time you are filled.:frown: Also some people have said they fill very little your first time. What should I do? Can they fill me more because I won't have another fill for a year? I know all people are different and don't get me wrong I am willing to excercise and eat right but I would also prefer that the band be at its full potential when I leave the states. There is ONE lap band surgeon in Hong Kong about an hour away from me, but they don't deal with many cases in a years time so I am not one hundred percent comfortable. Also the nurse said I could come see the doctor and then he would then decide if he could do my fill. Sorry for such a long post but any help or information would be greatly appreciated. I want to go into this fully prepared and knowing what to expect. Thank you so much.:smile:

Thank you again all of you for all the suggestions and help. Dr. Angus Chan in Hong Kong is a trained and qualified lap band surgeon that will be able to see me when needed. The only thing with this is that in Hong Kong although the obesity epedemic is increasing, they do not deal with may cases per year. This is why I am chosing to get the lap band in the US. I plan on living in the Us so I figure this is the best choice. I am aware of the complications that can occur and thats why if I did not have a surgeon close by I would NEVER consider this surgery. These opinions although difficult to hear have really helped and given me a good prospective on what to expect and what to consider. I am fully aware that this is SURGERY. A major decision. I am not expecting to "slap" this thing on and for it to just magically make me skinny. I think we all know at this point NOTHING does that. I plan on working very hard to get my weight off but need this tool to help me along the way. I just want to clarify that there is a registered bariatric surgeon that does this surgery in Hong Kong its just not as common as the states but there is somewhere I can go for aftercare. With that being said the ideal situation does not always happen and I have yet to be on the other side of the band. I appreciate all of your help and support and I will seriously consider all that has been said and look forward to any other posts that may help me on my journey. thank you again

One last thing, surely there have to be bandsters out there living abroad. If you are out there can you help with suggestions. I am sure it is possible I am just not sure how safe it is.

Thank you so much for the responses. As far as the plan for complications... there is a surgeon in Hong Kong. If I needed to come home I also have the ability to do so at a moments notice. I only plan on being out of the country for 1 more year at the most and I want to spend that time losing weight not gaining. Right now I am diagnosed with PCOS so losing is VERY slow and I really need a tool to help me. Some people have recomended the sleeve but I feel like the lap band is the least invasive and a surgery I have been researching since 1999. I know the most about this surgery and feel the most comfortable with it.