6 years after band thinking of adding Plication

[ccattorney 4]

I had my band done in March 2007 and lost about 130 pounds. I managed to keep the weight off for four years but noticed my band seemed to stop working About 2 1/2 years ago I had steadily began gaining weight no matter how many times I've had it filled. I have filled it so tight to the point where I cannot get any food down but when it gets passed the band I can eat like I did before the band. I believe it has slipped because I have restriction but no sense of fullness but my doctor says it isn't impossible because of the way it was anchored.

My doctor is recommending that I have plication surgery to reduce my stomach volume and that works well with existing bands. I am leaning towards getting it done because I am heading towards gaining all of the weight back. I am leaning towards plication because it seems to be the least invasive and no resectioning of internal organs. Has anyone else here had the plication surgery after the band? What are your thoughts.

[michpell39 399]

It worries me that your Doctor dismissed the idea of a potential problem with band placement without any investigation , I would see if there are issues with the band first before you get a plication done , if all is well then plication might give you what you need IMHO

[Tomander 614]

It does seem odd that your doctor hasn't ordered any tests... like a fluoroscope. Can you get a second opinion?

Tom, Toronto

Banded July 6 06

Wt. Loss: 156 lbs

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

having it filled so tight is not good and dangerous..

and having it sooo tight, you can only i am guessing, sip/drink high cal drinks or manage sliders.....that being said, eating more calories than you burn off will make you gain weight.....i agree with the two posters, def get a 2nd option or revisit the doctor about checking out if the band has slipped, it may not have..it maybe something as easy as you getting back to eating your allotted amounts and watching you calorie intake vs outake.

i have plication but my dr stressed that if i didnt change my eating, no WLS would help me...i happen to believe that and agree with that statement...anyhow, def get a xray under fluro done to check the status of your band....i wish you all the luck.

[elisabethm 4]

Can someone please explain to me what plication is? I was banded on feb this year and i have never heard of that term..thanks!

[line-dancer 810]

Mne did slp and believe me the pain in your chest would send you to the ER and you wouldn't be able to eat or drink Water. And you would vomit... but your doctor should have given you a flouro to see this minute action ask of it or go so someone that could do it. He should also be able to pull out all the Fluid put it back in and pull it out again to see if it is staying in there and how much has stayed in there... do some testing before doing more surgery

[mrsto 2,925]

Can someone please explain to me what plication is? I was banded on feb this year and i have never heard of that term..thanks!

Plication (called further curvature gastric plication) is where they fold in on itself, the greater curve of the stomach, and suture it with two rows of non-dissolving stitches. This reduces stomach capacity to about 25-30% of normal; size and shape similar to the sleeve...WITHOUT cutting, stapling or removing a huge portion of a major organ.

I had it done at the same time as my band, and I'm glad I did. Though I do not have a reference point as to what the band would feel like without plication, there have been times when I knew that the limited stomach capacity, was my insurance policy in limiting what I could ingest.

As Carolinegirl above said, we need to work with ALL of these procedures, and control our portions, while making healthy food choices. There IS self control involved with all of this, and the surgeries are only a tool for us to work with.

[JACKIEO85 308]

I believe it has slipped because I have restriction but no sense of fullness but my doctor says it isn't impossible because of the way it was anchored IF it's impossible THEN NO bander would ever have or HAD a SLIP and I know people that HAVE HAD SLIPS, what he's probably saying here is that with the "older" versions slipped MORE, then they discovered that by doing a pars flaccida technique it has reduced the % of slips.

My doctor is recommending that I have plication surgery to reduce my stomach volume and that works well with existing bands. I am leaning towards getting it done because I am heading towards gaining all of the weight back. I am leaning towards plication because it seems to be the least invasive and no resectioning of internal organs. Has anyone else here had the plication surgery after the band? What are your thoughts.

I'm playing Devil's advocate here... What happen's if you agree to Plication but since your Doctor didn't do any other tests on the band, Endo, Fluro and then does the Plication and finds a problem with the band and removes it, how would you feel? you might want to research more on Plication, sleeve etc..(not promoting either, when I'm done with the band that's it for me JMHO)

Plication can fail too, (you can stretch the stomach,) any WLS surgery can, I guess I'm saying Any time they do surgery it's invasive, you just need to know what your willing to deal with on a personal level. And maybe find out First WHY the band isn't working for you any longer, your NOT ALONE, it happens.

Good Luck on your journey~

LB Complications link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038361/

Plication Link

http://weightloss.clevelandclinic.org/gastricplication.aspx

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3397205/

[mrsto 2,925]

My doctor said that since he changed the way the band and port are "anchored", the number of slips & flips has dramatically reduced. That is NOT to say that it doesn't happen, but it's less frequent.

If it were me, I would not take a passive approach. When it comes to our bodies, we have to be our own advocates. If I don't like what ANY doctor tells me, I will either get a second opinion, or push them to do further diagnostics. Doctors are certainly not Gods, and unfortunately, some should not be practicing medicine. I'm not in any way saying that your doctor is one of those. I'm only saying that it's completely okay to question their answers and advice, and tell them that you want a diagnostic test to confirm what he "thinks". Many doctors will do this, just to put the patient's mind at ease.....which is IMPORTANT!

[ccattorney 4]

Thanks everyone for your input, it's greatly appreciated. I'm going to get a second opinion as to what is going on with the band.