NaNa

You mentioned: I think if my Wife told the surgeon she wanted surgery, he would schedule it ASAP. Admittedly, I know very little about the lap band. Honestly, it seem like your wife is being irresponsible on this, and as long as the scale is moving, even if it means an (IV feeding tube) she is willing to keep the band a little longer in hopes of getting to goal weight, even if it means a horrible complication?. Also, when searching for a new lap band surgeon you have to be persistent, you have to let them know that your wife is suffering, and usually if you tell them the issue, the receptionist or nurse will schedule you for an appointment, but it may be hard at this point, because your wife's surgeon IS WILLING TO HELP BY REMOVING THE BAND or replacing it with a larger band. If you and your wife is not willing to protect her health and get that band out ASAP, there is nothing this board can do for you, and if your wife suffer horrible complications, I doubt you will have any type of malpractice lawsuit because your wife is responsible for her complications by not doing anything about her issues, and not agreeing to remove the band (in a timely manner). Actually her surgeon IS trying to help her in this situation and your wife is refusing to get the band out, thinking the band will loosen, and she apparently is liking the rapid weight lost. That band IS NOT GOING TO GET ANY LOOSER, losing 20 pounds will loosen the band, your wife has lost 70, if it was going to loosen, it would have done so by now. She will cause damage to her esophagus and body over time because she will constantly vomit, and have obstruction and swelling until she has to get it removed in an emergency. The lap band IS the safest operation, when it is done properly and the patient acts responsibly, Revising to the Sleeve or Bypass will not guarantee her to be complication free, if the band is installed right, it is safer.

Not only a second opinion but a lawyer too. Also, she should not be vomiting THAT MUCH on an empty band to cause obstruction and swelling. Many people think it's quite normal to vomit daily with the band, until it almost kills them and then they come back bitter and say how horrible the lap band is and everyone will suffer the same fate.

Can you tell us who installed your wife's band? This is wrong and dangerous on all levels. Honestly, I think you have a lawsuit, it would be in your best interest to NOT allow this surgeon to not touch your wife any longer and get to a new band surgeon, ASAP, most US surgeons will take her, especially if there is a surgeon that has done wrong doing and your wife's surgeon does not sound ethical. The RED FLAG IS...being on an IV (feeding tube) for 6 months, no reputable lap band surgeon would put a patient through this with a ADJUSTABLE OR REMOVABLE lap band, this only happens to Gastric Bypass or Sleeve folks when they don't have a choice.

Funny you ask this, when I got my first band almost 8 years ago, my insurance paid 100 percent, I had really good insurance, I did not pay a dime. Fast forward I changed jobs over the years I've had my band and last year, when I learned that I had a hiatal hernia which was causing pain when I tried to fill the band optimally, my new employer had a exclusion for any type of bariatric surgery. Which means if I wanted a revision to another weight loss surgery like the Sleeve or RNY they would not pay for a revision surgery. But what I found out, they would pay for ANY complications related to my band which also meant replacing the band if medically necessary, so I had my old band removed, hiatal hernia repaired, new AP band, port, tubing put in all in one surgery and I did not pay 1 penny, no co-pay, nothing. BUT I had really good insurance with a PPO that paid for any type of hospitalization at 100 percent. So it all depends on how good your insurance is, and if you have good insurance and you have a complication, they SHOULD pay to either fix any port issues, or if necessary replace the band. Good luck.

What you really need to understand is that most peoples banded life will be as good as the surgeon who installs it, the aftercare they receive and patient compliance, so you have various factors of why someone may love or hate their bands. 1 How long does a band last before having to be replaced? No one knows, some people have had a band for over 12 years with no problems, some people don't last but a few months. What REALLY helps the longevity of the bands is following up with your surgeon when you need to, and reporting any adverse side effects immediately, band problems can be taken care of quickly, but time is of essence, if the patient has issues and ignore them and wait too late, a complication can happen that may require band removal. However, the band is meant to last a lifetime, but can be removed or replaced if any issues occur. I don't want to burst your bubble but with RNY IT IS NOT EFFECTIVE FOREVER EITHER, rerouting your insides and taking the required Vitamins ARE FOREVER, but the effectiveness of RNY where it HELPS with weight loss is temporary, some people dump forever (which has no correlation with keeping weight off, I have many friends that still dump over 9 years out and are STILL obese, they learned how to eat around dumping, ), which is something that many do not want. 2. Did you lose the weight faster with the plication ( more than an ave. bander)? I did not have plication. 3. How uncomfortable are refills? It depends, with some people they can be painful, can't access the port, etc, but for me, I've never had issues with fills, they only last for 1 minute, just a slight pinch and I am done. 4. What side effects, if any, are commonly experienced? Side effects will depend on how tight you keep the band (which is a choice), the tighter the band the more unpleasant side effects. But most with optimal restriction may experience slimming if they eat too fast or eat food that is too thick to pass through the band, this can be easily avoided by eating band friendly food. I've had my band for almost 8 years and I've had two bands, got the old one replaced with a new one due to a hiatal hernia, I would not change to any other procedure. Good luck

You and your wife have valid concerns and something needs to be done ASAP. Of course your surgeon can list your wife as a huge success in his books, but your wife's weight lost is not healthy and is very dangerous as she can eventually end up with Vitamin deficiencies from starvation and other complications. She has lost weight very rapidly, and it is not in a good way, she is probably vomiting all her meals. There are many people get the band either too small or too large for their anatomies, usually surgeons are good at identifying which band should fit the patients stomach during surgery, and they usually have the small and large band available to fit the patient based on the stomach size when they get in there. I've seen MANY over the years suffer from horrible band slippage, frequent vomiting, food intolerance and esophageal damage due to bands too small, and all ended up getting the band removed. If she can get it removed immediately and replaced with a larger band, she can probably prevent any further damage to her body. I would personally find another surgeon to remove the band, and get an attorney, and if your wife wants to get another band placed 'correctly' in the future, she probably will have better banded life than she does now. Ideally a well fitted lap band should allow lots of wiggle room with an empty band, most patients have NO restriction with an empty band and it feel like there is no band, that is how it should be ideally, and with a band that is optimally filled, it should take about 3-7 fills to fill optimally. When someone gets fully restricted on very little saline, this means their band is almost too small and if anything happens, they are likely to suffer complications too. Good luck

Also if you are not happy with where it is, you can always get your port placed lower and/ a low profile port. If your surgeon does not do this, you can find another surgeon who will.

You are like me that would terrify me to have a port in my shoulder area since I am very thin at the top and my bones stick out and I am sure this would be very noticeable on me. At least if the port sticks on in the lower abdomen, you can hide it with clothes.

Honestly to me, that sounds very painful, I would never want a port above my breast, hopefully it works out well for you. I've never had a port flip, or leak or any long term port issues. Both of my band surgeons placed my port near the same place right of my belly button and I am very happy they did. With my first band, my port was more noticeable after weight loss, but was never really painful, my second AP band I have a low profile port and I can't tell it's there, no pain or visible. I guess it depends on how well the port heals and how good your surgeon is with attaching the port to a muscle firmly and more importantly, LET IT HEAL post op. I never lifted anything over 10 pounds or bathe, (showered only) and never let anything hit my port area until about 2 months post op, I guess it worked for me because I've never had any port issues in 8 years with both bands.

You are still newly post op and I will not be concerned about 2 pounds!! It could just be Water weight. My weight loss was never consistent, I would drop pounds in bulk, I would go a week or two without losing any weight, or sometimes gain a pound or two and then the third week I would drop as much as 7 pounds. Just take a deep breath, calm down and keep focused and your eye on the prize, keep up with your monthly visit to your surgeon for any needs fills, you should be ok.

Well...if you want to see the scale move consistently, you may want to back up off the chocolate until you get near goal weight and then you can have little splurges. I will warn you don't open up that gate until you are at or near goal, sliders, and junk can get REALLY addictive to lap banders since they are easy to eat and slide down, but full of calories. Many people who are at or near goal eat sweets, and candy weekly, but they are probably skinny enough to exercise it off, and probably offset the treats with healthy meals, aka...you can't eat tiny bites of junk like spaghetti, raveoli, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, pizza, and then eat tiny bites of sweets and junk and expect the scale to move. Many people eat baked chicken, tuna, eggs, broccoli, spinach, and then may have a treat every now and then and it may not affect their weight loss. Good luck.

Did your surgeon tell you that your band don't work until the fill process start? The first 6 weeks are for healing, not really for weight loss. Most people are still in the mushy stage at 12 days post op. I would think most surgeons provide patients with a pamphlet with food progression and what to eat. Also, once you start getting fills and restriction, your band STILL WILL NOT keep you from eating junk and things you shouldn't. Researching a weight loss surgery prior is crucial to see if it will work for YOU. Many people get the bypass because it makes them sick to eat too many carbs, the band does not make you sick, UNLESS it is dangerously too tight and that does not work long term without complications. Some people get therapy to help them stay on track with the band.

Congrats! Woohoo

Yea, but every time I think of someone getting a lap band in a "surgery center' it brings back haunting memories of many lap banders having horrible infections over the years, because the "surgery centers" had either low accreditation or was a set up shop and go out of business type operation. Typically surgeons who performs in hospitals are more stable and less likely to "disappear" and have less complications under their belt because surgeons who have a High rate of complications CANNOT perform surgeries in accredited hospitals. And it also reminds of that great 1800-get-thin scams that ONLY did their lap band surgeries in their "surgery center" and a few patients died, had horrible complications, etc. Thank god those centers are now closed, gave the lap band a bad rap, and even sparked a congressional hearing and probably part of the demise of the lap band, and one of the many reasons Allergan wants to sell the band because of BAD surgeons and ILL INFORMED DESPERATE patients who are willing to risk their life in a sub par "surgery centers". I am not saying all "surgery centers' are bad, but MOST of them have been, and anyone who cares about their health would steer clear from them. Most reputable lap band surgeons do not perform lap bands or any bariatric surgery in "surgery centers". Also I would personally feel comfortable in the event of a complication, a highly accredited hospital would have all the resources, ICU, etc there if I need it. But again to each his own.

The only thing I will take with a restricted band are gel type capsules since they slide down, and chewable Vitamins, if I have to take prescription pills I will crush them or take them liquid form. I had a pill stuck with my old band about 7 years ago and ended up in ER from work, vomited about 10 times before finally dissolved and it was a small round hard Iron pill, I made a mistake and drank a cold Protein shake after I took the pill which anything cold will further constrict the band. Thought I was going to die, it was cutting off my breath since it was lodged in my esophagus. That that point since...Big pills scare me with a restricted band.

My advice, you got that old 4cc band and it has probably run its course and has done ALL that can be done, you've lost weight been successful all these years. If you have the 4cc band, it probably needs to come out, I loved my old 4cc band too, but unfortunately they are hard on the body long term and this is the reason 4cc bands are no longer used in the US because they easily caused pouch dilation's/ esophageal dilation's, hernias, horrible reflux, everything you mentioned, I've had... I got sick and tired of the unfil/refill game and reflux . I got my old band removed hiatal hernia repaired and new AP band installed all in one surgery, and I am very happy I did. My old surgeon wanted to revise me to the Sleeve, I refused, don't want my stomach removed and it stretches out for many long term and it was worth getting a new band even if it only last for 10 more years. This new band feels a lot better for me, no reflux or burning or Pbing since my surgeon over 10 months ago. Good luck

Good answer! We don't know her health history, but what we do know is that she probably should not go too aggressive especially with a damage band. Most surgeon do slowly start to fill the band again, I've never had a prolaspe band -- never got to the point of prolaspe, meaning a huge pouch, my pouch dilation was small (concentric) so her problem is way worse than my mild pouch dilation was with my old band, so she really needs to be careful. I've seen many go back and get aggressive fills after a bad slip and ended up getting emergency surgery to remove the band, so sometimes surgeons are not in control and give the patient what they want -- a big fill, even if it results in a complication. It's her body and the surgeon works for her and the surgeon will get paid just as much money to remove a slipped band, unfortunately.

I know it sucks, but since you had a huge pouch dilation (prolaspe), I would go slow, if you have absolutely NO restriction, I would ask for 1.5cc instead of 2cc, then see how you feel, and then try to ease up on the next subsequent fills until you get near the green zone. If your band has prolasped you may want to start looking into getting your pouch fixed, with the AP bands they can be easily unbuckled, without removing the band. From personal experience with a previous pouch dilation, it's nothing but a "band aid" to a damaged band. And with future fills, you cannot get back very tight (without issues of reflux, and risk a full band slip) Good luck

I would ask these questions: 1. How many bands has he/she placed, you are looking for a high number, a couple of hundred is a good. 2. How many revisions to other surgeries have they had to do, if they take out more bands than they put in--run, ideally you want a very low revision rate to any other surgery. 3. Aftercare is MORE important than the band, ideally you want a surgeon that do his own fills, but if he is busy, ask if he has a physician assistant that is trained in surgery as well as perform fills. Also part of aftercare is diagnosing and treating any type of lap band issues, you want to make sure that your surgeon will not outsource this, many lap band surgeons either work closely with GI doctors to do EGD's or Radiologist to do Upper Gi,'s etc, and most lap band surgeons are skilled to fix hernias, etc. Also your lap band surgeon should ONLY treat and diagnose any lap band related issues you may have, such as determining if your band is adjusted properly and following your progress, you don't want a PCP doing this, they are not skilled to do so. 4. Fills, should be administered by your surgeon, or a skilled PA, not just anyone. Ideally you want a surgeon that will be available to fill/ or unfill your band if needed and not on a set schedule, but ideally every 4/6 weeks the first year. Good luck

Congrats! Keep on working that band!

If you ate 1/4 eggs in 5 minutes you are differently not too tight, congrats on getting restriction. Most people who post here about being too tight, can't even get down a Protein shake in 20 minutes. Seems like you hit the green! Happy losing.

Most insurance require them in the US, they want to make sure the patient is full aware of what they are getting into and responsible, I guess they want to make sure they are getting a bang for their buck... Surgeons don't care, they will gladly take anyone's money that are self pay, psych exams are not required with most self pays in the US. Most surgeons in the USA don't tell the patient what band they have until AFTER the surgery, but usually the patient WILL KNOW in the hospital or during their first post op appointment. My point to this poster was SHE SHOULD have gotten a post operative report BEFORE she left Mexico, many others do that have surgery in Mexico. I've known a few people that had surgery in Mexico with reputable surgeons, and got their post operative report BEFORE leaving Mexico and they had a US surgeon lined up for their aftercare, THERE IS a BIG DIFFERENCE IN BEING RESPONSIBLE AND NOT RESPONSIBLE. Also, this patient was told something, she was told she had a non-adjustable band, if she was not told anything we would not be in this discussion.

I stayed overnight, with both my first and second band, and I really needed it, everyone is different, I prefer a hospital in the event complications occur. I honestly would not feel comfortable having surgery at a surgery center, especially where the lap band has to be in a very sterile environment to prevent any infections.

There will be pain at the port area, you need to call your surgeon if it is unbearable. What helps most people is to wear lose clothes, sleep in recliners, and keep a heat pad and pillows and walk, walk and walk. Also Gasx helps a lot of the pain is from gas and port pain. The pain should get better in about 1 week, but again call your surgeon if you have redness or warmness at your port area.

You got support, it may not have been rosey, but you got support, I did not yell or scream at you or call you names, I was just being honest, I've never heard of any surgeon in the last 15 years in the USA or Mexican performing any non-adjustable bands, so as concerned lap banders we had to call you out on this and let you know of the possible consequences. Also in the US most insurance companies make people undergo a psych exam to make sure they are responsible to take care of themselves after weight loss surgery. There are no rules in Mexico, I am sure they will perform weight loss surgery on anyone who have cash on hand, also it is your responsibility as an adult to know what was done to your body, most people who have surgery in Mexico are given some type of post operative report indicating what was done to them. I can't believe you left Mexico without a pre operative report, you should know if you got a non-adjustable or a 4cc band, hopefully you are not that irresponsible.