itsyvonne

What I don't understand is this: Is it legal for a surgeon & hospital (and anesthesiologist - and whomever else gets paid for the surgery) to charge the insurance company more for the surgery than they would charge a self-pay patient?

I know that a certain surgeon started charging the same for fills whether a patient is self-pay or insured, because his lawyer advised him that the insurance companies might take legal action against him otherwise.

Does it make a difference whether the billing is for surgery or for follow-up care?

Sharon Osbourne ... possibly a poor bandster role model since she's mostly used it as a tool to binge & purge, but a bandster none the less.

I have been banded twice. Not sure if you are going to count me twice in the stats, but I'll provide two sets of data:

FIRST BAND

Date Banded: 7/17/2002

Country: France

Doctor: Vincent Frering

Eroded: NO (this band slipped)

SECOND BAND

Date Banded: 5/9/2005

Country: USA

Doctor: Brent Steward

Eroded: NO

Here is a forum that is mostly europeans:

http://www.wlsinfoforums.org.uk/wlsinf/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=51

Unfortunately, to do more advanced functions like searching, you need to pay a membership fee.

Is any surgeon NOT using the pars flaccida technique these days?

I can see why there is a focus on erosion as a possible complication of banding on lapbandtalk (due to the personal experiences with it). Statistically, however, it seems we are much more likely to experience slippage. Slippage is something over which we might possibly also have some measure of control ... by avoiding PBing/vomiting.

The research quoted by Dr. Pleatman above states that there was a slippage rate of 25% in the first 500 patients, and 4.7% in the last 600 patients. Erosion, on the other hand, was 3% in the first 500 patients, and 0% in the last 600 patients.

-Yvonne

1st band - july 2002, slipped march 2005

2nd band - may 2005

BMI 39/24/at goal

Check out Ellyn Satter's philosophy on this....her book is: "[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0967118913/ref=pd_sbs_b_3/002-0779278-4791269?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155]Your Child's Weight: Helping Without Harming[/ame]."

I did read something from, I think, a UK website (my kids were bugging me to use the computer so I didn't reasearch it further), but this woman said she converted to a MIDband because she had trouble with her first one. She didn't say what problems she had or what kind of band she had first, but that was 6 years ago and she's doing well. So maybe its the type or brand of band causing this, I don't know, but I'm going to look further, because I am not familiar with the different types of bands.

Yes I know who you mean--I believe she's a woman from the UK who had a lap-band and converted to the Midband. I don't think she had erosion, though ... I think she had slippage or reflux/esophageal problems.

I had the opposite - I had a Midband, had reflux very badly and eventually had slippage. Now I have a lap-band and am very happy so far.

What does that prove? Absolutely nothing...but just wanted to put in my 2 cents that I don't think erosions are higher with any particular brand of band - or at least, there's not enough data out there to prove that yet.

I have read that erosions could be related to some anomaly happening in the original surgery.

2.5 cc fill is really huge for a first fill. I think you might still be feeling the after-effects of a too-aggressive first fill.

we are all the same, it seems ... behind the eyes

broken promises and dreams .... in good disguise

all we're reallly looking for is somewhere safe and warm

the shelter of each other from the storm

maybe one day, we can turn and face our fears

maybe one day, we can reach out through the tears

after all, it's really not that far to where hope can be found

maybe one day, we can turn this world around

who can trace the path of time? ... not you or me

the twisting road we call our lives ... we cannot see

the hunger and the longing everyone of us knows inside

could be the bridge between us if we try....

maybe one day, we can turn and face our fears

maybe one day, we can reach out through the tears

after all, it's really not that far to where hope can be found

maybe one day, we can turn this world around

(by amy grant ... 'turn this world around')

Don't know what possessed me to post this ... I guess the lyrics just seemed to fit.

By staying this way, I think you are risking your body's ability to keep the band long-term. Being too tight raises the risk of complications like slippage, pouch dilatatation and esophageal dysmotility.

Magic,

I don't think there is enough data or research to definitively show that the Midband has any fewer complications than the lap-band--what you read is probably what the manufacturer says about the Midband (and also Dr. Frering's expert opinion). That said, I think it sounds like you made a good choice for you, provided that you have arranged for follow up care.

I was banded with a Midband in Jul of 2002 by Dr. Frering. I was very pleased by my experience in Lyon - the surgery & recovery was a breeze for me. I had trouble with follow up care, though. I had to travel quite a distance to get fills, and was turned away by surgeons who either did not want to provide follow up for somone they didn't band, or did not want to provide follow up on a band that was not approved by the FDA. If you frequently travel to Switzerland, it may not be a problem for you, but still, you may need more convenient follow up in case of emergency.

It may not have been such a problem for me if it hadn't been for the fact that I experienced complications. First, I got terrible reflux as soon as I got adequate restriction. I had two unfills, and then finally had to get a complete unfill. Later, I got a small fill, and then a few months after that my Midband slipped. After my Midband slipped, I was rebanded in the U.S. with a lap-band and I'm doing well now (at goal and stable for 8 months).

Good luck to you--just remember, with the band, having quick & affordable access to good follow up care is probably the MOST important thing after choosing a good surgeon!

-Yvonne

260/160

I'm confused about the stitch. Was this an EXTRA stitch that is not normally done on people? If so, WHERE was this "extra stitch" and WHY was it done?

I'm going to really start worrying if it is a stitch put on the anterior (front) side of the stomach above the band. The stitch does not actually attach to the band; it's only on the stomach. The purpose of the stitch is to form a "bump" that helps prevent slippage. This stitch was done on me by one of my surgeons---it was a technique she learned from Dr. Ponce in Georgia.

Thanks,

Yvonne

Personally, I do not view it as a positive to have that sort of restriction from the beginning and never have it let up. In hindsight, a person with that kind of restriction would have been a good candidate for a VG band. I like the idea of having some flexibility in restriction. There's no option of an unfill if one develops reflux later on down the line, for example.

I know that the Vanguard band has a much lower incidence of slippage and rupturing.

everyone I've talked to said that there's less chance of erosion because there's chambers in the band and the Fluid has more room to spread out.

Y'all may have been told those things, but I don't think that the VG band has been around long enough to be able to come to these conclusions.

BTW, my surgeon told me that the purpose of the "chambers" was so that the Fluid would distribute evenly around the band. The problem with the larger bands is that the fluid does NOT distribute evenly without that sort of design modification. The smaller bands do not have that uneven distribution problem.

I've had a tooth pulled and a crown done while being banded. It never even occurred to me to ask about this. I guess I will in the future. Luckily, I have not had any problems as a result.

How recent was your surgery?

Did you start getting the reflux BEFORE or AFTER your 1cc fill? Sounds like before. Maybe, paradoxically, it would help for you to get MORE restriction. Sometimes reflux is caused by a too-tight band, but sometimes people's reflux resolves when they get the band. Did you ever have reflux before the band? If yes, then maybe getting a tighter fill would help it. If no, I guess I don't have any good advice except try to manage it with medication and lifestyle.

Maureen - is he going to do the "nipple relocation" with you? That's the part that freaks me out the most. I wish there was a way to do a breast lift on me without doing that, but I have a feeling I'll have to get that for the best results.

Yes. My 7 year old daughter has been in the 95th percentile for weight since she was a couple of months old. That alone was enough to convince me...I mean, how much can environment play a factor at that age?!? She has stayed consistently about the same level of "overweightness" since then, as well (i.e., let's say she is about 10% over "ideal" weight ... she has remained that same 10%, give or take a few percentage points, since she was a baby).

Last summer, she "thinned down" a little...she's on the lower end of where she has been right now. I think her activity level was the main thing that changed. She started doing Karate 3 days a week during the summer. She has always been fairly active, though. She simply has a HUGE appetite. We serve healthy foods, we don't keep junk food in the house. We allow HER to decide how much she wants to eat of the foods that are offered at meals (except for dessert--only one serving of dessert for everyone.

People may think that I should be trying to control her portions, but we are following Ellyn Satter's philosophy of not controlling that. We read her book, "[ame=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0967118913/qid=1130336502/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/102-3504333-1237711?v=glance&s=books]Your Child's Weight: Helping without Harming[/ame]," and it was very enlightening and we learned that we need to "let go" of certain things or we will be setting her up for eating disorders and obesity.

-Yvonne

I lost major amounts of weight 4 other times in my life (60lbs, 80lbs, 60 lbs, 120 lbs). Each time, I gained the weight all back (except the last time I never got back 30 of the 120 I lost... thank goodness). Given my past history, getting the band was a "no brainer" for me. I knew I was capable of losing the weight; it was just the maintenance that was seemingly impossible for me.

The band has now made maintenance of a healthy weight almost effortless for me. That's been my experience. Also, weight loss always resolved my PCOS symptoms (I am now having regular menses--something I've never had in my life). My PCOS never got as far as insulin resistance, though...my main symptoms were lack of periods and infertility.

There is no easy answer to your question. You've just got to make the decision for yourself based upon what you know about the band and how it might help you with weight loss & weight maintenance in the long run. Congratulations on your weight loss thus far!

Congrats...it's actually more like "faster than a lot." I didn't even lose that much in the first 1.5 years!!! I eventually made it to goal @ about 2.5 years out. Not my preferred rate of loss, with LOTS of LONG and FRUSTRATING plateaus, but now @ 3+ years out & maintaining, it doesn't matter how long it took!!!

Have you ever had good restriction? You have had a huge number of fills!

Dr. Frering in France is adamant about the "no carbonation" rule. He also said it would stretch the pouch. It's never made much sense to me, but after reading the post about air pockets still being visible in the stomach the next day...hmm...maybe there's something to it.

I remember a bandster speculating that her reflux was either caused by or made worse by her Diet Coke habit.

I've never heard of carbonation being related to slippage. Vomiting (PB-ing, whatever you want to call it) seems to be the most often cited cause for slippage.

I don't think it's about the exact weight so much any more for me. I am 160 at 5'8.5" and I look pretty good in clothes (as long as I camouflage my hanging stomach & abdomen) but unclothed is a nightmare. I really feel the need to have PS in order to complete the process.