GeezerSue

A couple of years ago, Don Mills of Inamed told me that the band can "cure" reflux in those who have it pre-op and can cause reflux in those who never had it. On of my negative consequences of having the band was reflux. Your physician needs to know so that the impact can be lessened. Long-term, acid in the esophagus is not a good thing.

You know, I don't know WHAT--if anything--my doctor submitted to my insurance for the band removal part of the surgery. He DID submit for the DS and they paid him. His "program fee" (that's out of pocket for me) is $1000 more for revisions...maybe that's where he makes up the difference.

I would not have the RnY, but I DID have my band removed and I got the DS.

First, I'm sorry that yet another one of us is having to go through this. That said, decide NOW what you are going to do NEXT about weight loss, because that might save you the time/money of a third surgery, (band in/band out/different procedure.) Some people are at a good enough place that they decide to go it alone. A couple of us had the band removed WHILE having the DS. (In my case, the surgeon's program fee is $1000 more because I'm a revision, but that's WAY cheaper than paying for a third surgery.) I think someone here has had an RnY or is thinking about it. I think there MAY be a tendency, once we decide that band IS coming out, to want it out NOW. I'm just saying that factoring in your NEXT move in weight loss, may be worthwhile. Sue

Sometimes it doesn't matter what you keep out of the house. There was a bit on TV the other day about a high school that took out all the junk food machines. The next day, a couple of entrerprising students started SELLING junk food at school...and one of them reported making (probably her gross sales) $50 the first day.

Like Michelle, once we SAW the esophageal problems, I couldn't wait to get my band out. UNLIKE Michelle, I had it done along with the DS. I'm so sorry for you, Kel... Sue

NSV = Non-scale Victory

Why would he expect you to get by on a half-cup BEFORE a fill? That is insane. The band is healing into place, your stoma is no longer swollen...OF COURSE you can eat. Has he DONE this before?

Good luck with your surgery...but a little bit of a warning. After you lose a ton of weight and you have hangy bits, you'll probably want plastic surgery, and THAT'S where you'll likelly hit a snag. Because smoking interferes with the skin's healing process, more and more PS's are refusing to perform surgery on smokers. They don't want the complications. Just so you know going in. Sue

I'd say, "not unless you are in mortal pain." Some people think that it's the pill in the stomach that causes the problem. Ain't so. The mechanism that causes the NSAID to work ALSO causes a reduction in the lining of the stomach. the acids have a chance to burn holes in tissue that is not designed to handle acid. All those Prilosec and Prevacid and Zantac commercials (and the others) are NOT just for bariatric surgery people. They are selling THAT stuff because they've done such a good job selling the NSAID's. (And just to make you crazier...my cousin died at 57 because tylenol killed his liver.)

USC doesn't do banding, but they DO charge $800 for their program fee for support for RnY/DS surgeries. My surgeon charges $2000 ($3000 for revision patients) for his "weight loss program fee." Interesting enough, those fees are now tax deductible...as long as you have (well...in my case...a Letter of Medical Necessity stating that the program is for the treatment of a disease such as obesity or hypertension. which should be here soon so I can "ransom" my three grand out of my Section 125 account.) However, when we go into the area of pre-paid follow-up we get iffy, because pre-paid medical is NOT deductible...but, the support groups, dietary advice, education, etc. are all okay.

I've got my band...in a baggie. I was banded in Mexico but UNbanded in the states.

Hmmm...I think it was about 10-15 after pregnancy...and another 20 or so with a hysterectomy...and a good 20 with steroids after pneumonia...and then slowly, with a respiratory thing and a bladder issue which both kept me curled up in pain and on drugs, and whch slowed me down a lot. Those lifestyle changes added on another 40-50 pounds over the next ten years. And there's 100 pounds.

Eating at bedtime is more complicated once you're banded. Many times the food just sits there, trying to work its way down to your stomach. And, when morning comes, you are unable to eat "the most important meal of the day" because you're still processing the last meal. If you can eat at night AND in the morning, it probably isn't a problem. But there are those who drink a lot of Water in the evening just to make sure they aren't going to bed with food left in the esophagus/upper part of the stomach.

Not a medical response, just a chronological one: band--no infection abdominoplasty--infection breast reduction/abdominoplasty--no infection DS surgery--no infection So, after having a resistant infection, I had two more surgeries and no more problems.

I had no complications with my band surgery (Rumbaut in Monterrey, Mexico...Hospital San Jose), and no complications with my DS surgery (Keshishian in Delano, CA...Delano Regional Medical Center), and no complications with my breast reduction surgery/abdominoplasty revision (Andrew Cohen, Beverly Hills, CA...St. John's Hospital)...but with my original abdominoplasty (at a VA hospital), I ended up with a resistant infection, was readmitted and had to spend an extra week or so inpatient getting IV Zosyn q6h. See how we treat our veterans? The supervising physician said that the complication rate for abdominoplasties on an MO population--I was MO at the time--was 100%. After the surgery. I mean he SAID it after, not before, the surgery. HTH

I've only visited his in town place. I've seen photos of the newer place. But what I'm talking about is something like a regional or community hospital with many professionals in place. For unexpected, emergency things happening in the OR or immediately after surgery. At his older place, it was him and an assistant surgeon. That's all...two docs. One really good thing I didn't mention about Kuri is that he and his wife don't like for his wife to be left home alone, so he doesn't proctor and he can almost always be found in an instant.

Rumbaut was part of the pre-FDA testing, so it was a lot of his work that allowed the original band FDA-trials in this country. And, he is a band patient. so he knows the procedure from both sides. (And his family lived in Ohio when he was in junior high, so he is fluent in English.)

While the Tijuana surgeons are certainly competent, there is no full-service, modern, staffed hospital like we are used to on this side of the border. Last time I was at his hospital, Kuri's less expensive facility was a little, tiny...maybe 8- or 10-room bare-bones maternity hospital, which charged $47/day. That was two or three years ago. He later added a lovely new place with a beautiful view. But is was not anything like a staffed hospital. Ortiz's latest place is one of those "south of the border alternative cancer treatment centers." Not any place I'd want to go, because (just my opinion) those places are just selling false hope to desperate people. Sanchez has a full-fare deal, with hotel rooms on the upper floor of the hospital. Rumbaut (my guy) works a fully-staffed teaching hospital. With my kind of luck, I'm happier knowing that there is probably a cardiologist or pulmonogist in the house. Sue

Over the years, I've heard two things about Horgan: he's a gifted surgeon AND he and his practice CAN make patients feel that they are in the way. Personally, I don't care about my surgeon's (or my airline pilot's) personality...but if YOU do, Horgan's probably not your guy. OTOH, he has revised some real messes. Good luck with your choice...

Uh-oh...someone read my post.

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Dody, Dr. Pleatman is a respected bariatric (band and RnY) surgeon and, if the ill-informed and unwarranted rude comments you've been making don't scare him away, he is a valuable resource here. You might want to take your Nurse Nancy Kit, find the Glossary and learn the definition of "reversible," as it applies to surgeries. It does NOT mean that there will be no evidence that the original surgery ever happened. Good grief.

NewSho, Two of us here (Rachele and I) have just been revised from band to DS. It WAS a more extensive surgery and the recovery period was lengthy for me. Rachele is WAY younger and was back at work in no time. I am again (for the first time in years) eating salads and having fun with ham sandwiches. (I have to use a wheat-flour-free bread for the sake of my new bowels.) I've lost about 60 pounds...did that in two and a half months and then stalled. My body is catching up. I do NOT spend the entire day in the bathroom. I can eat sugar. And do. I'm avoiding some of the processed white foods, but not because they'll make me dump...becasuse one of my friends told me that if she had it to do again, she'd try to maximize her weight loss during the first 18 months by avoiding white-flour based foods. The DS and RnY are "scarier" surgeries than the band placement. But the surgery was only two hours of my life. I need supplements, but smart RnY people take them, too. Anyway, don't be afraid of DS. If a wobbly old broad like me can do it, it just can't be that difficult. Sue

Uh...Hi, there! :wave: Count me in the 25% and I'm intermittently here. I lost weight for the first eight months and then started having complications. By the time I had the band removed during DS surgery three months ago, I had regained every ounce. (We were finally able to document the barium swallow just sitting in my esophagus. Not moving. The doctors kept showing each other. THAT was why I was on a Soup and ice cream diet.) BTW, one European surgeon (where they have been implanting bands a lot longer) told me that 20% of his practice is REMOVING bands. So, yes, they do far more band implants in Europe, but they consider it a "first response," and are more willing to move on in the event of failure/problems. In fact, before I was banded, Dr. Franco Favretti (one of the earliest band doctors) told me that he felt that all wls should begin with the band and then progress as needed. So, I believe that we shouldn't assume that the Europeans have similar follow-up philosophy.