KINGFISH1

My symptoms with my band erosion are I never felt any restriction from inflations. My weight loss since banding two and a half years ago is only about 3 - 5kgs, but that could also be because my band locking mechanism had failed prior to erosion. I am wide open - can eat anything including breads, meats, fruit and vegetables. I could come close to eating what I did before I was banded but I try to resist the urge to do so 24/7. I have had an abscess over my port incision that is constantly discharging, but this is not always a symptom of band erosion according to my surgeon. I am still waiting for surgery to have the band removed and the abscess cleaned out, hopefully within the next week and then I am back to square one again! Hope this helps Marion

Hi Kari I remember you from the lapband forum on OH. I was banded four days before you in May 05. A week ago I was diagnosed with band erosion, plus the scope showed that my band locking mechanism had failed which could have been the cause of my erosion. How are things looking now for you - I hope whatever problems you had have now been resolved. Marion from New Zealand

I was banded in May 2005 and have had limited success, and always had difficulty getting any good restriction. I was resigned to the fact that I was a 'band failure' as my surgeon put it - filled to the max with no restriction after more than 20 fills and unfills. In May this year I was admitted to hospital after experiencing high temperatures and incredible pain and swelling around the abdominal area, in the region of my port. I had been feeling off colour for some time. My surgeon was away at the time so I entrusted my care to the local hospital, where most doctors knew nothing about the band. I was treated for a severe infection with IV antibiotics, and after day six was discharged from the hospital. CT scans, ultrasound and xrays revealed nothing apart from a small pocket of Fluid. In July I went back to my surgeon for my last fill which took me to 6cc's in my 4cc Inamed band, and within days an abscess had formed above my port. The abscess is no longer infected but continues to discharge constantly. My doctor uttered the words "possible band erosion", and we waited for approval to get a scope done. I had the gastroscopy done two days ago, and have lovely images in living colour of my eroded band. The picture also clearly showed that the locking mechanism on my band was open - which could been the major contributor to the erosion. So now, the band has to come out - and there will be a delay of several months before I can investigate more weight loss surgery. I am so grateful that I know now why I have not been feeling well, why I had a really hard time losing weight and best of all, that it wasn't my fault. I will be very interested to know whether the band was faulty, or whether it was not locked correctly. I remember asking the question about how secure bands were before my surgery and was told they "NEVER" came undone. I am so looking forward to recovering my good health again, and hope that my surgeon has learned something valuable from my experience. Namely, that if a patient is filled to the max, suffers no reflux and feels no restriction after a reasonable period of time, that it needs to be investigated further. I wish I had been more assertive much sooner! Cheers Marion