AP band & post-op liquids

[homew6kids 0]

My doctor has me on 4 weeks of liquids after surgery, and I noticed that not everyone goes that long. I assume the longer period is to try to prevent slippage. I also saw that the older bands do not go completely around the stomach and there is a greater chance of slip if you don't let it scar over completly before adding in solid food. I'm curious if this is true for the new AP bands that completely encircle the stomach. Anyone know if there's any data about this?

I guess I'm wondering if the new bands will be less prone to slipping in general. I have a 10cc AP band and want to get to know it better

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

My doctor has me on 4 weeks of liquids after surgery, and I noticed that not everyone goes that long. I assume the longer period is to try to prevent slippage. I also saw that the older bands do not go completely around the stomach and there is a greater chance of slip if you don't let it scar over completly before adding in solid food. I'm curious if this is true for the new AP bands that completely encircle the stomach. Anyone know if there's any data about this?

I guess I'm wondering if the new bands will be less prone to slipping in general. I have a 10cc AP band and want to get to know it better

My doc used to have the "four week" rule too but so many weren't following the instructions he finally changed them so they are easier to follow and people will be more likely to do as he says. The longer you stay on liquids after banding the better chance you have to avoid slips. Inamed's latest stats for slips show that they have doubled in the past few years. It used to be they were 3.1%, now Inamed is hinting that it is as high as over 7%. That could be for a few different reasons and I have my own opinions as to why that is.

The older bands do go around the stomach completely, it's the bubbles on the inside of the band that do not go around completely. When saline is injected into the port the bubbles fill up and cause restriction. The new band has bubbles all the way around the inside of the band. Nobody really knows if this is truly advantageous or not as there aren't enough people to do a formal study just yet. It is all theory or a sales pitch, however you choose to think of it.

The band manufacturer claims that there is less chance for a slip with the new bands but that's just a load. They have absolutely no way to tell if that is true or not until they get a large population with that band and study them for a few years. There are no stats to defend their claim one way or another. Personally, I think it's just sales hype at this point. There are several new bands on the market right now and they just want to have people think their band is better for any reason they can think of. They can't begin to defend their claims at this point.

As for scar tissue forming around the band that is absolutely true! Regardless of which band someone has they are all the same when it comes to scar tissue. The sutures the surgeon places to hold the band in place are temporary. It's really the scar tissue or adhesions that hold the band in place long term. If you eat solids before it is time those adhesions can't form properly and you risk a slip or more so, a future slip. It could be a year down the road.

[homew6kids 0]

>>The sutures the surgeon places to hold the band in place are temporary. <<

The Inamed stuff I've read says the sutures are non-dissolving. I believe they stay in there permanently. That makes sense actually - like a back-up system to prevent slip.

Hopefully, going to a doctor who puts the band in properly will help prevent a slip. It does make sense that the more people are banded, the greater the stats for slippage. Not all doctors should be placing bands, and maybe not all patients should be getting them.

Thanks for your input.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

>>The sutures the surgeon places to hold the band in place are temporary. <<

The Inamed stuff I've read says the sutures are non-dissolving. I believe they stay in there permanently. That makes sense actually - like a back-up system to prevent slip.

Hopefully, going to a doctor who puts the band in properly will help prevent a slip. It does make sense that the more people are banded, the greater the stats for slippage. Not all doctors should be placing bands, and maybe not all patients should be getting them.

Thanks for your input.

While it is true that those sutures are there forever, that still isn't what holds the band in place long term. It's the adhesions that grow over the band that hold the band in place long term. The sutures are essentially there to hold the band in place until the adhesions form, it is a temporary hold. So it really isn't a back up system that is in place to prevent a slip.

There are very few sutures holding the band to the stomach and you really can't depend on sutures alone to hold a band in place if you PB.

When you eat solids that stay in your pouch, and when you eat these foods before the adhesions form it can tend to push your pouch down so when the adhesions finally do form, they have formed with a pouch that is larger than it should be. This defeats the purpose of the small pouch. Actually, in the beginning they made the pouch larger than they do now and the reason they are making the pouch smaller is because people were not losing weight with a larger pouch. Also, when you eat solids your stomach has to churn and work hard to mix it with stomach acid and break it down further (more than chewing) and then push it through the intestines. When this happens the newly forming adhesions can't form properly and you don't have the tight grip on the band that holds it in place.

I agree with you about some docs shouldn't be doing bands and some patients shouldn't be getting banded. If a patient is totally unable to follow the post op diet, they probably shouldn't have gotten a band until they dealt with a few head issues, etc. Even if they don't slip right away that doesn't mean they won't slip a year from now all because they didn't heal properly. Most slips are the fault of the patient, not the doc.