Dr. Hansen SLC

[Josilyn72 2]

Dr. Hansen in SLC, UT is going to be doing my band surgery soon and I am just checking to see if anyone here knows anything about him and if he is good, bad or anything in between. I am excited to get banded, but want to be sure I am seeing the right doctor for the job.

Thanks,

Josilyn

[pdtedk11 0]

He is the best in Utah, I wish he had done mine, mine was done by his partner at the time. Good luck!

[Josilyn72 2]

Just an update in my band insertion with Darrin Hansen.

This is not a post to slam the dr, the procedure or the method. It is also not an advertisement for other types of bariatric surgery. This is just my exerience.

So I had my lap band put in on March 6th. I was super excited for that day. I arrived to the hospital and all went as planned and before I knew it I was banded. The rest of the day left me feeling weak and in a bit of pain, nots from the incisions. This was an internal pain. I made it through the rest of the day on ice chips and very little liquid.

That night however, I was up all night with severe coughing. The next day I couldn't keep down the smallest of liquids. I called dr. Hansen's office and was told to come in to remove any Fluid from the band insertion. I went in and removed .2cc liquid as well as some air that was in it. I was told that my inability to keep any thing down had caused the lining of my stomach to get inflamed and it would take a few days for that to subside. After still not being able to keep things down I knew I needed some nourishment. I called the dr. Office again that day and was told to get some iv fluid in an urgent care. Well urgent care wouldn't touch me and sent me to the er at the hospital I got the surgery. Also please note that I am in considerable pain this whole time.

So we drove the hour to the er and upon admission I was given iv fluids and pain medication close to morphine as well as a ct scan. The hospital tried to make me drink a liter of contrast, yes, the person that couldn't keep anything down. All I did from the moment I got to the er was puke. They did the ct with iv contrast instead. I was told that the band was still in place despite my constant vomiting. After a second bag of iv fluids I was sent on my way. Although I felt a little better I still knew that there was more to come. I waited until the next day, Friday to get to the super fun part. Fade in, me starving from no sustenance for two and a half days. My stomach is on fire and I can barely stand for any amount of time. Called dr. Office again, they arranged for me to get a feeding tube from the hospital closer to me. I went in and waited an hour for radiology to get me in for the tube placement. I was writhing in pain from sheer starvation. After I endured getting the tube in, the staff was nice enough to get me some apple juice to put in my small intestine though the new tube that went up my nose. I left with a tiny bit of energy from the immediate sugar rush. I spent the rest of that day and Saturday on the tube getting nutrition where I could.

I forgot to mention that I have severe anxiety and get panic attacks and was not able to take my meds for 2 days so I wasn't sleeping at all. Once I got the tube I was able to crush my anxiety and pain pills. I had already been in contact with Dr hansen about looking into all my other options as nothing was starting to be viable for resolving any of the primary issues. Saturday night it all came to a head. I was still in so much internal pain where the band was attached as well as still undernourished. I called dr. Hansen again after I had a severe mindblowing panic attack. I felt claustrophobic and trapped with something that has caused me pain since the moment I got it. I asked the Dr about getting it removed. He actually went out of his way based on everything I went through to get a surgery scheduled for the next day, Sunday. So today my very supporting love of my life wife who went through all of this with me, drove me to the hospital, was admitted for the surgeryand finally got this removed. The moment I was out of surgery i was at about 100 percent back to my normal self. After leaving the hospital I was able to go out to lunch and finally eat without a tube. I also learned something that I had forgotten earlier from when I went to the seminar about the procedure. Dr Hansen also does a stomach plication (folding) when putting in the band. That was left after the band came out, so I still have a weight loss surgery in place and learned the hard way that I can't eat anywhere near what I used to be able to eat.

What did I take away from this? The lap band is not for me. I couldn't tolerate it at all as my body wanted nothing to do with it. The staff at dr. Hansen's office are awesome and did everything they could to make sure I was taken care of and gave encouragement for me to get through this, but the clincher is that dr. Hansen went out of his way to get me into a surgery on his day off.

I, of course, still recommend his office if you are considering the band. I really hope that if you get the band that you are not a huge minority with the problems that I experienced.