the port..

IamCanadian25 · February 17, 2005

i was wondering.....when the port gets filled or the Dr. takes liquid out, does he numb the area first?....does it hurt?.....another question.....how do the scars look?.....are they fading at all on anybody?....not really worried about scars..just wondering how they look?....

look forward to here from anybody...

iamcanadian25

Alexandra · February 17, 2005

Hi there,

The port is a little unit under the skin that is the intake for Fluid into the band. It's not the port getting filled, it's the band. It's done with a syringe, and yes, most doctors do numb the area a bit first. It really does not hurt when it's done right.

My scars are, at almost 18 months out, actually hard to see. I had three tiny incisions and one slightly larger one for the port. The three little ones are hard for even me to find now, while the fourth one looks like a tiny scar I might have gotten from anything. One of the best things about laparoscopic surgery is the disappearing scars!

tigk29 · February 17, 2005

Because my doctor is new at fills the way their office does it is....a nurse looks for my port using an ultrasound machine. Once the port is found the doctor numbs the area and then uses a different needle filled with saline to fill my band. I learned the other day that the doc knows when he finds the port because the needle will fill up with the saline already in my band because of the pressure then he injects what I had in the band plus more. I am still a little nervous to watch it when he is filling me, but the nurses say it's neat.

I am 6 months out and you can still see my scars. They look a lot better then what they did and seem to be fading, but only time will tell. A few of my scars seem to be a bit bumpy, but I'm not concerned with the way they look because I thank god I had the surgery done!

Good Luck!

laraestokes · February 17, 2005

It is neat to watch the fill. Since My husband and I both have it, we went together the first time and Rich went back on Tuesday. You don't feel a thing!

New Hope · February 17, 2005

My scars are just very, very tiny lines - the biggest (port) is 1". My doctor doesn't numb first, just a slight pressure and it's in. That area doesn't really have much feeling in it. Removing the band-aid later is the worst part.