Are ER And Other Specialists Prepared To Handle Lapband Emergencies?

[NoMoBand 278]

With Shirley's passing - God Bless her and her family, I am really concerned now about emergency lapband care.

After reading Shirley's story and also due to my employer changing insurance companies my current insurance coverage does NOT have a local bariatric program or doctor(s), nor will they accept the only local bariatric program and doctors located in Albuquerque New Mexico and are forcing us to switch over to their bariatric program located in El Paso, Texas. A lapband emergency would require me to get myself down to El Paso for treatment or wait til the El Paso program sends one of their doctors once a month to hold a clinic that is always jammed packed. Basically, until I switch over, which is complicated process, I am without a bariatric doctor.

I was recently admitted to the hospital for a NON-lapband issue, where I had lost alot of blood due to a complication from a surgical procedure. I had lost so much blood that I was passing out and was totally disorientated. A very scary experience! I was almost certain that my emergency was not lapband related, however, I wanted to take every precaution that everything was ok with the band. My band was never checked and the only thing I was asked if I was experiencing stomach pains. A GI doctor came to talk to me and his response to the band was "What do you want us to do?" Yeah right! Are ER's and medical staff well prepared enough to handle emergencies with lapbands is my greatest fear right now. In mine and other people's opinions, Shirley should have never been released from the hospital and WHY was she? Would like to hear your opinions and would very much welcome feedback from people working in the medical field. Jake

[#MagicWithinme 173]

that's aweful for medical staff to say stuff like that, they don't realize many times how their words affect patients, you have to be your own health advocate, and you can complain, they could of said it in a different way. contact hospital compliance officer. this is the person that makes sure everything is being done to standards.

[Cazzy 725]

With Shirley's passing - God Bless her and her family, I am really concerned now about emergency lapband care.

After reading Shirley's story and also due to my employer changing insurance companies my current insurance coverage does NOT have a local bariatric program or doctor(s), nor will they accept the only local bariatric program and doctors located in Albuquerque New Mexico and are forcing us to switch over to their bariatric program located in El Paso, Texas. A lapband emergency would require me to get myself down to El Paso for treatment or wait til the El Paso program sends one of their doctors once a month to hold a clinic that is always jammed packed. Basically, until I switch over, which is complicated process, I am without a bariatric doctor.

I was recently admitted to the hospital for a NON-lapband issue, where I had lost alot of blood due to a complication from a surgical procedure. I had lost so much blood that I was passing out and was totally disorientated. A very scary experience! I was almost certain that my emergency was not lapband related, however, I wanted to take every precaution that everything was ok with the band. My band was never checked and the only thing I was asked if I was experiencing stomach pains. A GI doctor came to talk to me and his response to the band was "What do you want us to do?" Yeah right! Are ER's and medical staff well prepared enough to handle emergencies with lapbands is my greatest fear right now. In mine and other people's opinions, Shirley should have never been released from the hospital and WHY was she? Would like to hear your opinions and would very much welcome feedback from people working in the medical field. Jake

I totally agree that disharging anyone with complications from any medical problem with the words if u dont fix it you will die type sentence over you is awful. If the hospital i was at was refusing to care for me i would go to another hospital. Surely if you are paying their fees or your insurance is, they work for you .. it isnt right that they pick and choose who they medically treat or not. I know tho if i have a band emergency my surgeon is on call 24/7 for emergencies if not i would not leave a hospital until my medical problems had been sorted out. Sometimes you do have to be your advocate or if u arent well enough your family have to be, doctors from any department are only human and sometimes they get it wrong too. You have to be your own expert, know your own body, know how your band feels, if it isnt right then do something about it and dont take chances.

Its a good question to ask before you have surgery... what happens if i get a real emergency, who do i contact, do you have links with any local hospitals who are able to deal with lapband patients etc etc, this is one advantage of going to a bariatric surgery department in a normal type hospital, they will have on site people who can deal with the band and emergencies as against just band centres.. something worth considering in my book anyways ..

[Dulci 108]

I am concerned about this issue as well. Fortunately, there are several bariatric programs locally, so most, if not all, local hospitals should be familiar with band issues. I am concerned about travelling. Next year, we are planning to drive from FL to the Grand Canyon.

[kll724 3,055]

I personally will never go to the local hospital here as that is not the one my surgeon has the authorization to work out of. Unless, I am dying, I will make my husbad drive the 1 hour to the hospital that he covers. I have heard him tell other patients to get themselves to another hospital. Usaually, emrgencies do not come on that quickly with our lapbands. I am not saying that our friend who passed did anything wrong waiting but I have had an emergency that came on slowly and I ignored, Luckily, the surgeon was able to take care of my problem without complications. Karen

[kll724 3,055]

I am concerned about this issue as well. Fortunately, there are several bariatric programs locally, so most, if not all, local hospitals should be familiar with band issues. I am concerned about travelling. Next year, we are planning to drive from FL to the Grand Canyon.

By the way, not to hijack the thread, I made that trip 2 years ago in May. It was beautiful! We took 3 days to drive to Arizona from Lakeland, Fl.(central fl). You should be okay, just take care. Karen

[latisanava 12]

im also concerned i live 3 hrs from my surgeon and and hour and a half from the closest lapband clinic, so im thinking in an emergency i wud have to just go to a local er but who knows if theyve ever dealt with them,, very worrisome

[NoMoBand 278]

Just something as simple as an unfill in the event of a medical test/procedure while in the hospital is a perfect example. In the event that no bariatric consult is available do they know what procedure(s) require an unfill? Are they trained and equipped with the correct needle used for this?

I do realize that lapband complications occur over a period of time, however, things do happen. I guess I'm a little surprised with how little the doctors knew about the lapband while I was in the hospital, or shall I say gave me that impression.

[runnyf 8]

well think of having the band and being in an ER that is not familar with it. In reality, there are really only 2 things that can be done. One, remove the fill, two, have it surgically removed. I have seen posts were some hospitals don't have needles long enough to reach ports to do unfills. I would suggest asking your baratric surgeon for such a needle to keep on hand with you in case of an emergency situation. Just the needle, as the connections to syringes are pretty standards and any ER will have a syringe that can be used to do an unfil. That way, even if you end up somewhere like while on vacation or otherwise not prepared for patients with LB's, you have the equipment needed to protect your band from being unfilled with a device that can result in damage to the port or creating leaks. Now with that said, convincing one of those MD's to use it in the event of an urgent issue, that could be the real challange. I would aslo familarize myself and your loved ones where your port is located to hopefully prevent delays in unfilling by having to way for fluroscopy. My surgeon recommended that a huber (non coring needle) always be used to prevent damage to the port. He is also the one that suggested I keep one with me once I start getting fills.

[elcee 3,341]

My experience

I went to the local hospitals ER dept about 2 months ago. You are all correct in thinking that most do not have experience with a band but that does not mean that they are not able to help you. OK I am in Australia so things may be slightly different but I would imagine they would be similar.

I was admitted into emergency as I had a blockage and could not even swallow my own spit. They gave me some oral(liquid) painkillers and antiemetics. Pretty useless but I suppose they thought they should try. I could also taste them for hours afterwards as I kept spitting them back up.They put me onto a drip as I was obviously very dehydrated and this is one of the most important things that the ER needs to do. They also called in a Dr from my team. He himself was not a bariatric specialist but he knew in theory what to do. He discussed his plan of action with me as well to check what I thought. That might seem strange but obviously I have more experience with the band than he does. His first move was to try to take the Fluid out. He knew in theory what to do and where the port was but in practice could not hit the correct membrane. After trying twice he did not want to hurt me so he than arranged for it to be done under fluoro. It was a public holiday and they called a specialist radiologist in to do this for me.He also arranged for a CT to be done straight after the defill.I was then kept in until evening for obs to make sure everything was OK and that I was able to eat and drink before being allowed to go home.

So he may not have been able to do the stuff himself but he was able to ensure that the hospital provided the correct treatment.

I then got to see my Dr a couple of days later.

[difa 114]

im also concerned i live 3 hrs from my surgeon and and hour and a half from the closest lapband clinic, so im thinking in an emergency i wud have to just go to a local er but who knows if theyve ever dealt with them,, very worrisome

Research. Find out if a hospital near you has a bariatric doctor...a bariatric doctor there might not install lapbands but is familiar with them and would know what to do in case of an emergency. Just call the area hospitals up and ask if they have a bariatric doctor on staff and if so is he familar and trained with the lapband.

[SageTracey 608]

Like Elcee, I am in Australia and also had to attend the ER a couple of weeks ago. I had a nasty dose of gastro and was worried that I would end up vomiting violently and possibly cause my band to slip. At that stage I had diarrhoea very badly and had started dry retching. I don't vomit easily with gastro so once the dry retching started, I knew it was time for help. I went to my local ER, which happens to be one of the hospitals where my surgeon operates. The ER docs treated my nausea and dehydration but didn't understand why I was concerned about my band, they only wanted to know how much weight I had lost!

Fortunately I was able to seek help early enough to prevent any band issues but the experience did raise my awareness of the need to know my body, my band and my rights to insist that they call my surgeon if necessary.

Yes, we must all be advocates for our own health!

[Dulci 108]

I live near Fort Lauderdale, FL. I had my surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston, FL. All of the ER physicians at CCF are trained to unfill bands under fluro. Since the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area is a tourist destination and both cities are major cruise ports, if anyone has any band issues travelling in South Florida, Cleveland Clinic is equipped and the ER docs are trained to assist us bandsters.

There are many other hospitals in South Florida that have bariatric programs and are quality hospitals. However, I specifically asked about the ER band care at CCF, so I know they are available 24/7.

[NoMoBand 278]

If anyone visiting in my hometown of Albuquerque New Mexico, Lovelace Westside hospital is completely equipped with a bariatric's program and excellent doctors and floroscopy. Presbyterian Hospital/health plan does not have anyone local! They will send you out to El Paso Texas.

Other towns in New Mexcio with lapband doctors and hospitals are Santa Fe and Silver City. You just never know.

[Jachut 487]

Well, I'm in a lucky situation in that my colorectal surgeon operates from Cabrini in Melbourne, which has an emergency department (which I've unfortunately had to visit a couple of times for bowel related issues) where many private hopsitals dont. My colorectal surgeon began his career doing lapbands with the surgeon who heads the lapband practice I attend. So in theory, I could go into a private hospital ER, and request my colorectal surgeon (with whom, as a cancer patient only in the early stages of remission, I have an ongoing relationship with) who could certainly unfill me and perform an emergency removal surgery. I could then get my lapband surgeon to put in the new band that I would want, lol.

That's what I'd do on a weekend or early morning emergency. Any other time, I'd ring my clinic of course and take my surgeon's direction on where to go.

What I cant believe is the stories of surgeons refusing to treat other doctor's patients. That's appalling! What do you do if you move interstate? Or if your surgeon retires? I may be wrong, but I dont believe this happens generally in Australia - insurance is insurance is insurance by and large and the surgeon's fee is not covered by private health insurance, its covered by Medicare which everyone gets. So we have less of that kind of problem in Australia - I do have reasonable expectation that if I were in another state and and needed an emergency unfill, somebody would do it, even if I had to contact my own surgeon by phone for a recommendation of who to go to.