Soft Fills during surgery

[Suwanee 0]

Hi! I have my surgery scheduled for tomorrow :phanvan and am a little bit nervous, but also so excited. I've been reading posts like crazy...i must be obssessed!! but my surgeon told me that during the surgery they do a soft fill and I was wondering if anyone else has had that done and how it feels and if i will be feeling restriction right away. Pretty much - how is it going for you? Thank you!!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Best Wishes for your surgery tomorrow!!

Let us know how you do, especially with the soft fill.

I have not had surgery yet, so I can't give any words of advice - only my concern.

[kland 0]

When I had my surgery, my doc filled my band....I guess that's the soft fill you describe. He said that he filled the band to make it fit. I wouldn't say that I necessarily had restriction, but by the time I was healed, it was time for my first fill.

[Suwanee 0]

I do remember that my doctor had said that this will put me "ahead" of the game in the fill department. He stated that its about 1-2 fills ahead so that your not needing so much adjustment.

[Jachut 487]

I wonder what the rate of people ending up overfilled is with that. I'd be nervous about that because I definitely did not need any fill at all for about eight weeks. I had plenty of restriction.

But I guess its adjustable, so yeah, if it puts you ahead of the game that's fabulous.

It was still my period of fastest weight loss anyway, I didnt personally need fill at that point.

[mrspruett 0]

Suwanee- When you chose your doctor, I am sure you did so because you trust his judgement and feel he is a good physician. If he is experienced and he uses a soft fill during surgery, that is what he has found works best for his patients.

I, personally, did not have a soft fill and once the swelling went down, it was as though I did not even have a band. I was running on all willpower (but for only two weeks thankfully). You will find that there are all sorts of people who are banded. Some have a lot to lose and some do not. Some exercise a lot and some do not. Your doctor knows your medical history and can best determine what will work for you. You will do fine! Best wishes!

[faithmd 14]

Allergan advises a fill of (I believe) approx 3cc's/mL's in the new AP bands. It is to fill the tubing and minimally fill the baffles. It does not necessarily give you restriction, it fills the "dead space" in the band.

I have read that some surgeons do slightly fill other bands, and for that I have no opinion other than to agree with a poster above me who said that if you trust and are comfortable with your doctor, then that is what he advises.

Since very few of us have had bands before and those who have rarely know whether their first band versus their second band was soft filled, I think it would be hard to know whether a soft fill made a difference.

[Chris61 0]

Iam 4 weeks out and I have some Fluid in my band. I will know more on Monday when I get a fill. about 2 weeks after surgery I knew I needed a fill.

Chris

[mbanja 1]

I was told that no fill was going into my band during the placement and that I would probably need to get one after the recovery of 6weeks. That was because, reasoned by my Doc, that implanting the band causes the stomach to swell, therefore, creating the effect of a fill. After the 6wk healing period, my swelling should be gone and I would "know" I needed a fill. Well, let me tell you, I wish I had a soft fill cause it wasn't a week before I felt like I hadn't had the surgery at all. My hubby even said,"are you sure they put something in?" Well, I saw the fluro and the band on xray and could fill the port so I knew I had something in there even though I couldn't feel it. I was dying for a fill by the end of week 4. If getting a fill ment having to wait in line like those crazy people who wait for the release of a video game or the stores to open on the day after Thanksgiving, Hell I would have brought a sleeping bag and tent and waited. Needless to say, I had my fill as soon as I could and it was a relief to fill that restriction!!