My Lap Band Was Removed After 2 Weeks...

[Myturn12 0]

I had surgery on Dec 15, and the first week was ok, but the second week, I was in excruciating pain. I saw my doctor, who prodded a few times and said, "surgery, now." He removed it during surgery. I'm self-pay, and he said we could try again in a couple of months. Has anyone had any experience with this?

[Humming Bird 275]

no, never heard of it........ what went wrong?

[Jim1967 3,569]

I am yet to be banded..hoping for April or May so I have no answers for you but I would like to ask what was the reasoning behind the surgery to remove? Was there slippage or was it not placed correctly? And as far as trying again in a couple of months what it his plan or expectations that a second time around will be successful?

Hope you don't mind my asking...your situation seems a little unique.

[2bSMALLER 28]

What was the reason for the removal ? Never heard of this ?

[Myturn12 0]

My doctor said that in .5% of cases, the body simply rejects the foreign object. Right after the initial surgery, I was having a little bit of difficulty taking large breaths and holding my breath. They did a CT scan, and the lap band was fine. I had no pain at that time. They did, however, find that I had some "small" gallstones, but I was not in pain at that time, so they said not to worry about it. 10 days after surgery, Christmas Eve, I started having tremendous pain in my left shoulder, and every time I tried to take a deep breath, it got worse. Then, Thursday night, I started having abdominal pains. I called the doc yesterday morning, and per his instructions, I went in at 10 a.m. He poked a couple of places, I screamed in pain, and he said, "We need to do surgery now to see what's going on." I came out of surgery and he said he had to take the band out, as well as my gall bladder. He said the abdomen was "inflamed", possibly infected, which compromises the lap band. He also said he did not believe the gall bladder was the cause of the problem. He believes my body may have rejected the foreign object, which happens in .5% of the cases.

My doctor is a well-known and well-respected surgeon who specializes in ONLY lap bands, so I trust him. He said we could try again in a couple of months. That's all I really know at this point, though. I can say I'm glad it's out because the pain is over...

[mags2u 57]

I'm surprised he would try it again if he thought it was due to rejection?

[elcee 3,341]

It sounds to me as though there was some other problem not the lapband which your Dr failed to pickup. Possibly there was already a problem with the infected gall bladder which could have caused the issues,maybe it was something else. I am sure you will never find out the real reason as when Drs have done something wrong they don't generally share that info.

Sorry that you had to go through this.

[Myturn12 0]

elcee, I don't believe for a second that my doctor did ANYTHING wrong. To automatically assume he did is unreasonable. Five days after surgery, I had a CT done, and it was reviewed by a radiologist and an urgent care surgeon. Both of them said the lap band looked great. I didn't have serious problems until 10 days after surgery. Yesterday, the lap band was still intact, but the abdomen was inflamed. Blaming my doctor for an infection that started 10 days after surgery doesn't seem reasonable to me. The gall stones were tiny and NOT infected 5 days after surgery.

I'm starting to regret saying anything. I was just hoping to find out if someone else had it removed and then replaced a few months later. The fact is, we don't know if it was a rejection, or something else that cause the infection, which is why he is suggesting we try again in a couple of months.

I guess not.

[Humming Bird 275]

something just does not sound right about all that

why couldn't they treat the infection with antibiotics if the band was fine?

[Crississippi 4]

I would have to agree with humming bird...something sounds off. If there Is even a hint of a rejection, no Dr. in their right mind would try it again, they would recommend another procedure.

Sounds like he is trying to cover something up and is trying to avoid refunding you or dealing with a lawsuit.

You should really get a copy of all of your records from the surgeon and get a second opinion from another surgeon that is not a part of the same practice.

Best of luck to you!

[Miguel Angel Quezada 1]

I'm so sorry but happy your ok. does that means you have to pay for everything again?

[elcee 3,341]

Yes to me something does not add up.

[Doriehi 3]

I told a friend yesterday that I had lap band surgery and he told me that he knows somebody that got a lap band and 2 weeks later, they had to take it out. I don't know who this person is and I don't know anything about her but my friend did say, "her stomach was all infected" So, I guess it does happen but not often. I'm glad you're ok. I'm sorry it didn't work for you and hope you someday will be able to get the lap band. It's been wonderful for me. No pain only soreness. Losing weight and inches. I was banded on Dec 12, 2011. Good Luck to you.

[spoiltmom 44]

Personally, I don't care how well respected your surgeon is I would get a second opinion before I let him try again. Were you sent home on antibiotics?

[Caribear 184]

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. I haven't been banded yet either, but I have to agree that it seems strange that any surgeon would want to risk doing the surgery again if you have already rejected one band. Unless the new band is made completely of different material than the first, it wouldn't be a good idea to risk having the same thing happen imo. Maybe you could even run this by your primary care doc and see if he/she thinks it's a good idea. I know a primary care doc is not a lap band specialist, but they should have enough of a grasp of foreign body rejection to at least give you an opinion as to whether you should try it again or not. I'm just concerned about your health and the safety of a second procedure.