Port Question

PalmTrees · May 12, 2009

Hi all, my surgery is in less than 2 weeks and my doctor gave me the option to decide between the lap band and the realize band. I'm really stuck between the two. Any advice based on experience? Also, I feel like the lap band's port looked like it would stick out more, which I have read on some of the other boards...It seems like the realize band is flatter which does make me lean more towards realize...so for the realize banders- do you feel/see your port right away sticking out? How about after you've lost the majority of your weight? Thanks in advance...

myturn0421 · May 13, 2009

I got my Realize band in 10/08. I can only feel my port when I lay down. So far, I've lost 45 lbs and haven't noticed a difference. My husband has the Lapband and has lost 80 lbs so far - same thing, we can't tell a difference.

My surgeon says he prefers the realize port because the surface are is a little larger and makes it easier for him to access.

Good Luck!

PalmTrees · May 14, 2009

Thanks...have you noticed any differences in your realize band compared with your husband's lap band like the way food goes down, getting stuck, etc? I ask because I'm trying to decide between the two and I wonder if I'm overthinking this because they may just be so similar....

myturn0421 · May 14, 2009

We really don't see any difference. I'm postop 7 months and he's almost 2 years. At 7 months for my husband, he'd lost more weight than I have, but he's also a lot bigger than I am. Percentage wise, we have about the same fill, but Chris' is tighter - because his actual stomach is larger than mine. Chris went 6 months without a fill.

I guess the only real difference is I get adjusted 0.5-1.0 cc's at a time and he gets 0.1-0.25 at a time. Makes no difference in the weight loss.

As for making my decision, I went with the one my surgeon felt most comfortable.