actively thinking, scared but hopeful

August 11, 2003

Hello-

I am actively, actively considering such surgery but I am scared.

Esp. after I read about the city council woman in Detroit died from complications of such surgery. Although I knoe there could be complications from any surgery.

I am in Michigian, wondering where others in Michigan have gone?

In general, wondering about long-term results, and do they frequently have to perform follow-up surgeries to readjust the band?

Thanks, Amy

Any other rec. or insights would be very welcomed.

Sheila · August 11, 2003

Hi Dramy,

Don't know what part of Michigan you live in, but I am going to a seminar Wednesday with Dr. Timothy Duckett who is located in Maumee Ohio, just across the border from Michigan. You might waqnt to check him out. I live in the Columbus Ohio area but because of insurance am having to drive almost 3 hours north to be stay in my network. Anyway, good luck on your research. I have been considering this a several months, and this is my first step forward!@

Sheila

jerryg · August 11, 2003

Hello Amy

I am from Michigan and had my surgery in March by Dr. Mark Pleatman. I am completely satisified. The actual surgery was less than 30 minutes. He has two offices, one is Bloomfield HIlls, and one in Waterford. If you are interested he is having a support group meeting and an information session next Thursday(8/21). The following information I extracted from his web site.

"The next support group meeting will be held at 7:00 PM Thursday, August 21, at North Oakland Medical Centers in the Huron Dining Room, Pontiac Michigan. It will be immediately preceeded by an information session for prospective patients. The information session will be at 6:00 PM in the auditorium on the first floor, right beneath the Huron Dining Room. There should be a sign posted in the lobby. For further instructions or to register, call my office at (248) 334-5444. Please call to confirm, as sometimes the date changes due to unforseen circumstances."

If you decide to come look me up

leo · August 11, 2003

Amy, like you said there is risk involved with every Surgery, but I think the percentage of complications with the lapband procedure is very minute. And definatly better then getting your internals rearranged with the By Pass.

Try to find out as much as you can about the lapband procedure and ask people that have gone thru this before. That should help you come to a informed decision.... Jerry would be a great person to email for more info

sheryl · August 12, 2003

For me, the risk of dying by not having this surgery was a lot greater, so that argument didn't fly with me. I think the risk of me being in a fatal car crash while driving to the hospital is greater than me dying from the lapband surgery.

The main thing to know is that the more experienced the doctor, the lower the risk of complications. Period. The doctor that operated on that city counsel woman nicked her organ, which caused a problem later. She didn't go back to the original hospital and later died from that nick.

Make sure you get a surgeon with a low complication rate (ask around). Even if you have to travel, it may be worth it!

Good luck!

Brandi · August 24, 2003

I went to Dr. Boutt at Port Huron Hospital. I did a lot of research and just found he and his partner Dr. Bhesania to be very experienced. Their office is called "The Lap Band Center" and the phone # is 810-989-3328. They have so many nice people on staff and lots of volunteers there who have had the surgery and are there to answer questions.

I was actually scheduled to have the surgery in January, but chickened out because of what happened to the council woman. But if you've read into it at all, she died because she failed to get medical attention when she FIRST started having symptoms of an infection. She didn't want anyone to know that she had the surgery (media) so she went 4 or 5 days with a massive infection and got no treatment. By the time she finally went to the Emergency Room, it was too late. I've read articles where they've interviewed the ER doctors and they said that she could have been saved if she had come 4 or 5 days earlier. I hope that this one incident won't pursuade your decision too much.

I decided that I was going to FINALLY do it and I am so happy that I did. It's been less than a week and already I know that I am on my way to a happier, healthier lifestyle and that this is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Kiera · August 25, 2003

Amy,

I think Brandi is right, I read that same thing about the councilwoman who died. I also read that she went to a different hospital than where she had the band so it took them longer to figure out what the problem was. Everything I have seen on the subject blames the fact that she was in severe pain for days and did not seek help. It is a very sad story but it is one that could easily have been avoided and could also have happened with many kinds of surgery not just the band.

It is important to remember that ANY kind of surgery has some risk involved. Compared to RNY bypass surgeries the Band is much safer and the risks of dying are very very low. But also consider what your risks are in staying obese. From my POV I was much more likely to die of some medical problem brought on by my weight - high blood pressure, (pre-)diabetes, all kinds of yucky things were looming in my future. Now I am losing weight and everything has improved.

Hmmm, guess I got off on a ramble there but the point I was trying to make is that it is important to look at all aspects not just one pecular incident. Hope that helps.