Lap Band Port Area Discomfot

[GoCubbies79 31]

I was banded back in May of 2011. I have had great success over the last nearly 3 years and have lost over 200 lbs. Recently, about 3 weeks ago, I started getting some discomfort and mild pain near my port area. I can best describe the pain as such. Whenever I sit, stand, bend, or use my abdomen muscles I feel moderate pain in the stomach muscles around my port. i have noticed a little swelling in the port area however the swelling has no pain. I have noticed a little redness and very slight itching on the outside skin where my port is at.

Has anyone ever experienced this or have some insight what it could be?

I went to my primary care doctor and had an Xray taken. My Primary care doctor told me I had a large amount of stool in my rectum and I should take a Fiber supplement to flush it out. I have been on a Fiber supplement for two weeks and have tried laxatives and have seen no increase in my excrement. I have had no changes in my bowel movements since my lapband was put in. I am regular and have bowel movements on a daily basis just as I always have.

I went to my surgeon a little over a week ago. I told him what my primary care doctor said and he laughed as if whe my primary care doctor said was rubbish. The surgeon looked at my band and port through the floroscopy and everything was in place and looking perfect. he did comment that I looked a little swollen around the port and when he was trying to feel where the port was he said "it feels a little different". He was able to access the port with no problem, he even removed and added a little Fluid to ensure nothing was wrong with the tubing from the band. The surgeon ordered up a CT Scan for me which I had done yesterday. I am noticing the swelling going down a little and the pain has become a little better but I am just wanting to know what has caused this.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

[dawalsh 919]

Your surgeon may have fixed the problem by manipulating the port but I had similar symptoms and my port had flipped. My surgeon tried to manipulate it but I starting experiencing pain so I had a simple day surgery to have my port repositioned and now everything is fine. Hope everything is well with you!

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

Keep us posted please as I could feel as I normally do but I turned over on my stomach and it hurt a bit , but my surgeon also checked the same way and it's normal , he said I notice it more now and feel it more now because of my weight loss , so I guess it will stick out when I lose even more in time , however it is ok , please keep us posted on what is happening and what they say.

[GoCubbies79 31]

I did the CT Scan and called my surgeon yesterday, friday at 9am, to schedule a followup appt. The receptionist said he isn't available until 2/13/2014. I explained the circumstance and she told me she would send a message to my surgeon and his assistant to look over the CT Scan and call me back.

I got a call back at 6pm from the assistant telling me the CT Scan was 100% conclusive. She asked me if I was nauscious, vomiting, able to eat, have a fever, or have chills. I do not so I responded no. i explained that the area by my port is now red and itchy. She told me to get some cortizone10 and apply it to the area. She said for me to call the office monday morning to setup and appt because the people are gone for the day and can't schedule the appt now. She also said if I start vomiting, get chills, fever, red area growts, or nauscious I am to go to the ER immediately. Also if need be i can call the dr on call this weekend.

i have to admit I am a little disappointed in the response from the office. If i was a dr I think I would have told the patient to come in immediately and find time to see what is going on. If this is serious I want it taken care of immediately and not stall around until it gets worse and something more serious happens.

I bought the cortizone10 and applied it last night which helped the itching. I put more on this morning and it is helping but I still feel the itching and want to scratch it but am resisting as much as i can. The pain seems to be getting better though.

Ill keep everyone posted as this situation progresses.

[SandyM 1,956]

100% conclusive for what? I see they seem to be warning you of signs and symptoms of infection????

[kimk1999 450]

Yeah I'm wondering too - 100% for what?

I guess if you don't have the symptoms that she asked about it's not an 'emergency' and can wait till Monday. I know this is super concerning to you and if I was in your shoes I would have wanted answers and results yesterday as well. I wish you the best.

Just a suggestion (follow your doctor's advice more than my suggestion but I wanted to suggest it anyways) If cortisone isn't working for you, you may want to try some gold bond lotions for anti-itching. I think they have similar ingredients yet some are different (I think). Also, when I get super itchy, I will actually take some of my allergy medicine - benedryl if it's at night or claritin if it's during the day. I'm speaking from a perspective of random super itchy skin. I do not know of these suggestions would / could counter what you're experiencing. Maybe an oatmeal bath thingy. Maybe a pharmacist might help?? I hate itchy skin it drives me nuts.

I wish you the best and for a super fast weekend. Let us know what you find out on Monday.

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

WTH! sorry but if they told you , you could call the Doc/Surgeon on call this weekend , then I would , because it needs to be taken care of , and what is conclusive , did you even ask I would have got very angry till I could have at least asked for the Doc. to call me back asap. , because I needed to discuss what was going on and what they had found conclusive and that I was really worried as they should have been also, well at least you called your Doc's office but I would have asked to speak with the Doc. because , the office people don't understand about banded people, as I had to listen one time to my Surgeon , yell and get on the nurses and front office because they did not take vitals or Weigh and log us in , He yelled and asked , the What do I do for a living what do you think these people are here for , and so one of them answered you do wls, he then proceeded to tell them then why aren't you weighing them, so ya just for me I would call the Doc. on call and let them know what is happening , well keep us posted , good luck.

I did the CT Scan and called my surgeon yesterday, friday at 9am, to schedule a followup appt. The receptionist said he isn't available until 2/13/2014. I explained the circumstance and she told me she would send a message to my surgeon and his assistant to look over the CT Scan and call me back.

I got a call back at 6pm from the assistant telling me the CT Scan was 100% conclusive. She asked me if I was nauscious, vomiting, able to eat, have a fever, or have chills. I do not so I responded no. i explained that the area by my port is now red and itchy. She told me to get some cortizone10 and apply it to the area. She said for me to call the office monday morning to setup and appt because the people are gone for the day and can't schedule the appt now. She also said if I start vomiting, get chills, fever, red area growts, or nauscious I am to go to the ER immediately. Also if need be i can call the dr on call this weekend.

i have to admit I am a little disappointed in the response from the office. If i was a dr I think I would have told the patient to come in immediately and find time to see what is going on. If this is serious I want it taken care of immediately and not stall around until it gets worse and something more serious happens.

I bought the cortizone10 and applied it last night which helped the itching. I put more on this morning and it is helping but I still feel the itching and want to scratch it but am resisting as much as i can. The pain seems to be getting better though.

Ill keep everyone posted as this situation progresses.

[GoCubbies79 31]

Thanks everyone for the support on this. I should have explained more about the CT Scan conclusiveness but didn't want to bore you all with more and more paragraphs to read.

The surgeon was concerned perhaps the band had eroded into the lining of my stomach. When I was at this office last week he looked at it under the floroscopy and both the band and port were positioned correctly. The port did look a little higher up than it did in the past but wasn't a majore concern.

Looking at the CT Scan results they couldn't see if the band had eroded into my stomach but did see some tissue build up around the port and tubing of the port. The surgeon wasn't sure if thats how the scar tissue grew since the surgery or if it was a sign of something else being wrong.

I trust my surgeon and have 100% faith in him. I agree its the staff at the office. They don't fully understand the patients concerns and situations and are looking at a calendar and trying to plug in names with no sense of urgency toward potential emergencies. If the symptoms gets evernt he slightest bit worse I will call the dr on call and see what he/she has to say or head to the ER. Right now the pain is mild and the itching is bareable.

Thanks again for the support and comfort.

Edited January 25, 2014 by GoCubbies79

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

I posted and now it's up to you I was just saying as I usually do if it was e I would be getting help right away before it got any worse and had more complications , but you are doing what you think is good for you , so good luck as I will do what is best for me.

[Lady VS 1,147]

I can't say that I have had this to happen but am glad you sought medical advice. Hope you feel better.

[GoCubbies79 31]

Sorry it took so long to reply but a lot has happened in the past two weeks. I saw my surgeon on Monday January 27th for the results of my CT Scan and was informed that my lapband had eroded into my stomach. I had an infection and inflammation around the band area, all along the tubing, as well as around the port area.

I was admitted to the hospital on January 27th and had surgery to remove my lapband on January 28th. I was on two very powerful antibiotics via iv called zosyn and cleosin. I was released from the hospital on Friday January 31st and am taking augmentin and Bactrim oral antibiotics as well as hydrocodone for pain. I have a drainage tube on my right abdomen and an incision wound on my left abdomen. The incision needs to heal from the inside out so a nurse comes every few days to change my dressings. The wound will take several weeks to heal but I am thankful the infection and major problem I was having is gone.

So far I am doing well without my lapband. I don't have much appetite but am a little worried once I fully heal that I may start to eat more than I should and may even gain some weight back.

Thank you all for your comments, concerns, and support. I will keep you all posted on my recovery progress. I hope to be back at work in a couple weeks.

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

OMG it's a good thing you went in and found out see it could have got worse , wow , so are you going to get the band replaced and how or I wander what made it erode , well you had the tool and you know pretty much what to do , so I hope whatever you do , helps you and keeps you healthy and on your journey, well stay healthy and get better.